Chapter 100: Boss Supervision (1)

As promised, I intended to give the Demon King two hours of free time each day.

Once the limit test was complete, the Demon King headed for Floor 5.

While occupying my body, he could use skills, enter and leave the Tower, and make use of its systems just as I could.

‘Don’t let anyone else see you.’

The Demon King had no interest whatsoever in the climbers on Floor 5.

He rose into the air and flew toward Zone 4, concealed from sight, of course.

For the record, even while he controlled my body, I could still communicate with Diul.

Diul clearly hated the Demon King taking possession of me, but whenever I asked, he lent me his power all the same.

‘Come to think of it, you cast magic without using Mental Concentration at all.’

That was certainly how it appeared whenever the Demon King used his power.

Was the Mental Concentration window simply another restriction imposed by the Tower?

“You think magic of this paltry level requires casting?”

Apparently not.

So even the Demon King had to concentrate when using higher-grade magic.

Though if everything I had seen so far counted as low-grade, I could not even begin to imagine what high-grade magic looked like.

Whoooosh,

We arrived in Zone 4, where the blizzard raged without end.

The Demon King continued across the frozen expanse before finally descending onto the summit of a towering mountain.

‘What are you planning to do?’

I asked out of curiosity.

What exactly had he come all the way up here for?

The Demon King surveyed his surroundings and said,

“First, I shall build myself a palace.”

‘Excuse me?’

The Demon King raised one hand.

Rrrrumble,

The cold gathered around him, and an enormous mass of ice began rising from the earth.

Watching it, I finally understood what he intended to do.

No... was he seriously planning to build an ice palace right here?

The ice took shape from the ground up, steadily forming into a structure.

Whatever size of palace he had in mind, it was clearly not going to be anything modest.

‘...Hold on. Don’t you think you should keep it within reason?’

I spoke up hastily.

If he used too much power, my body would collapse.

This was Floor 5. Even if the strain became severe, I could not simply clear a floor and recover.

The Demon King snorted.

“Cease your fussing. I know perfectly well what I am doing.”

And so, atop that snow-covered peak, the Demon King began constructing an enormous palace of ice.

‘What exactly are you planning to do with a palace all the way up here?’

I asked, baffled.

“I am a king. A king must have a palace. Why ask something so obvious?”

The Demon King answered as though he had said something perfectly reasonable.

I, for my part, simply let him get on with it, stopping time whenever my Willpower ran low so I could replenish it.

When the palace appeared to be no more than five percent complete, the Demon King finally stopped using his power.

The strain on my body was only just beginning to show.

“Tch. This body of yours is as frail as ever.”

The Demon King clicked his tongue in irritation.

Apparently, he intended to complete the castle little by little, adding to it whenever my body had recovered.

I still could not see the point of any of this, but...

Our agreement was that he would be free to do as he pleased so long as he obeyed the conditions.

If quietly building a castle was how he wanted to spend his time, then fine.

Once the strain on my body had faded, the Demon King resumed construction, carefully regulating his power as he built the castle piece by piece.

***

A classified military facility in the state of Virginia.

Hssssh...

Taylor stopped what she was doing and took a moment to catch her breath.

Various pieces of military equipment had been arranged around her, several of them damaged during the test she had just completed.

“Excellent work, Taylor.”

The personnel observing from behind the reinforced glass left the observation room and approached her.

Among them were military researchers, general officers, and the Director of the Climbing Bureau.

The purpose of the test being conducted here under the Department of Defense was simple.

They wanted to gather extensive, multifaceted data on a climber—and not just any climber, but one of the highest-level climbers currently known to exist.

Naturally, the phrase “highest-level climber currently known to exist” came with the unspoken qualification of excluding Person123.

“Remarkable, just as expected... Every single metric surpassed our projections.”

The speaker was Raymond, Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Liam, Director of the Climbing Bureau, nodded along with the man’s admiring words while privately suppressing his displeasure.

When Taylor cleared Nightmare Floor 6 and reached Level 60, the Pentagon had been more delighted than anyone.

The military was the institution most wary of the power possessed by the superhumans known as climbers, and what it lacked most was reliable data.

Then Taylor had succeeded in clearing Nightmare Floor 6 without either giving up or failing, pushing herself all the way to Level 60.

There were a handful of American climbers in a similar level range, Alex among them, but strictly speaking, they belonged to the association rather than the government and were not particularly cooperative with federal authorities.

Taylor, on the other hand, had once served as both a soldier and an intelligence agent. Her patriotism ran deep, and she readily cooperated with the military’s requests.

That was precisely why Liam felt uneasy as he watched.

Climbers properly fell under the jurisdiction of the Climbing Bureau, and the fact that the military was bringing them in for experiments and ordering them about did not sit well with him.

Of course, the testing parameters had been designed with Taylor’s safety as the highest priority.

She was, after all, a national treasure of the United States.

And Liam understood the military’s position as well.

This was the Era of Upheaval.

Even now, a number of African nations had been plunged into chaos by climbers whose strength exceeded the deterrent power of the states meant to contain them.

It might well be a miniature version of the future awaiting the entire world.

The danger simply had not yet drawn widespread attention.

Even now, the balance of power was shifting toward an increasingly precarious point.

That was why they prepared.

They sought to analyze the combat capabilities of climbers in greater depth and develop the technology and countermeasures necessary to respond to them.

“What do you think? With our current military strength, up to what level of climber could we handle?”

At Liam’s question, Director Raymond replied,

“Judging by the rate at which a climber’s physical durability increases with level, it should still be possible to kill one even beyond Level 100 using conventional forces. Of course, the losses would be catastrophic, which makes the distinction almost meaningless.”

The United States military had experience fighting Stage 5 Fallen during the Fallen crisis.

Based on that data, one could imagine what would happen if a Level 100 climber—a monster far stronger and more intelligent than even a Stage 5 Fallen, with the added variable of skills—went berserk in the heart of a city.

It would be nothing short of a catastrophe.

No different from war.

Subduing such a being would be nearly impossible without first accepting the destruction of the entire city.

“It might honestly cause less damage to simply detonate a nuclear weapon.”

Raymond laughed.

It sounded like a dry joke, but there was little doubt that the Pentagon had already run every conceivable simulation involving nuclear weapons.

“All the more reason to make every effort to ensure such a catastrophe never occurs in the first place.”

If the role of the Department of Defense was to prepare for war against climbers,

then the role of the Climbing Bureau was to recruit more of them, win them over, and bring them into the fold on terms favorable to the nation.

Raymond shook his head.

“I wonder. Personally, I believe it is an inevitable future. The human desire to unleash the power one possesses is bound to erupt eventually.”

“Perhaps.”

Liam brought the unwelcome conversation to an end and walked over to Taylor.

“Excellent work, Taylor.”

Taylor appeared to be checking the Communication Channel.

She said,

“I need to enter Floor 5 for a while. Alex is calling for me.”

Liam nodded.

Between complying with military requests and constantly entering and leaving the Tower, Taylor was busy enough to need several bodies.

Liam was also well aware that she had been secretly hunting in Zone 5 of Floor 5.

Her determination was far too strong for anyone to stop her, and the Climbing Bureau, worried that interfering would only provoke her, had chosen to leave the matter alone.

“Is this about the Zone 3 boss?”

“Yes.”

An even more important event was approaching.

The Zone 3 boss.

Since Person123 had defeated the Zone 3 boss alone the previous time, no other climber had yet received a Normal Reward from it.

Now, after nearly two years, the gauge was almost full and the opportunity had finally returned.

One reason it had taken so long was that the opening of Zone 4 had dispersed hunting activity across a wider area.

Taylor would naturally take part in the boss battle as well.

She needed the reward.

Liam silently prayed that the coming battle would end without incident.

***

[Cheetah99: Zone 3 boss is gonna pop up soon]

[Prohid: How’s it gonna go. Have the Security Corps and the Black Star Society said where they stand?]

[Arrow: Looks like everyone’s in a cooperative mood this time around]

There had been a certain anticlimactic quality to the first clears of the Zone 3 and Zone 4 bosses, both of which Person123 had completed alone.

Normally, however, a boss battle was an enormous event for climbers.

The coming Zone 3 boss battle was nothing less than an all-star match in which the highest-level climbers would gather to fight together.

[Zone 3 (99.0%)]

With the Zone 3 Boss Gauge sitting at ninety-nine percent, the Security Corps and the Black Star Society held a final summit at Drake’s Restaurant on Floor 5.

All terms had already been settled in advance.

There would be no hostility, no interference, and no attempts to undermine one another.

They would cooperate to defeat the boss.

With numerous onlookers watching, Security Corps Chief Alex and Black Star Society President Li Zeyan shook hands.

After the Black Star Society climbers departed, the members of the Security Corps spoke among themselves.

“Can we really trust those Black Star Society bastards?”

Even after so much time had passed, those involved still remembered the Wang Kai Incident.

The Black Star Society’s attitude had changed completely in recent months, but the lingering unease was impossible to shake.

Alex said,

“We’ll need to remain vigilant, but there’s no reason to worry too much. The Black Star Society has nothing to gain by acting recklessly.”

The first-clear reward had already gone to Person123, and to obtain the Normal Reward, one merely had to meet the required Contribution threshold.

This boss battle was not a competition.

There was no reason for the two sides to fight one another.

More importantly, Alex was thinking about Ye Tianwei.

The true power hidden behind China and the Black Star Society.

For this summit, they had sent Li Zeyan, who was little more than a figurehead.

But Ye Tianwei needed the reward as well, which meant he would have no choice but to participate in the boss battle personally.

Alex was deeply curious about the man.

Still, before worrying about any of that, perhaps he should first be concerned with whether they could defeat the boss safely at all...

Alex let out a sigh.

“...Do you think Person123 will help us?”

“Still no reply?”

The Security Corps had sent Person123 a Whisper asking for his assistance with the boss battle.

It was true that the climbers’ combat strength had risen considerably over the past two years.

Even so, the Zone 3 boss was estimated to be at least in the Level 60 range.

The only information they possessed was that it was a flying-type monster capable of spewing fire from its mouth.

That was all they knew.

Person123 had killed it with a single blow.

It was somewhat embarrassing, but if they could secure his help...

They were not asking him to participate in the battle directly.

They merely wanted him to watch over it.

Just as the Security Corps cadres supervised boss battles when lower-level climbers challenged the Zone 1 and Zone 2 bosses.

If Person123 would simply observe the Zone 3 boss battle and intervene only if the situation became dangerous, their concerns would be greatly reduced.

“I’m sure he’ll help us.”

Shin Su-jin spoke with complete confidence.

The Person123 she knew was not someone who would refuse a request like this.

Perhaps he was already planning to assist them.

“But is Person123 really that strong?”

One of the Security Corps members asked with an amused grin.

It was Vince, who had recently joined the Security Corps.

He was a Level 48 climber on Hard Floor 13, young but already recognized for his talent.

A promising newcomer who had quickly been appointed to a cadre position within the Security Corps.

Vice Commander Justin said,

“Strong doesn’t even begin to describe him. He exists on an entirely different level.”

“I’ve only ever heard people talk about him. I’ve never seen him fight for myself. But he’s still human, just like the rest of us. Aren’t you exaggerating a little?”

Justin shook his head.

There was no point trying to explain.

“More importantly, Vince, you need to control yourself. Don’t get carried away and charge off on your own again. This isn’t an ordinary hunt. It’s a boss battle. One mistake and you’re dead.”

“Come on, I know that, Vice Commander. I’ll be careful.”

Watching Vince answer so casually, Justin clicked his tongue.

His talent and skill were exceptional, but perhaps because of his youth, he was still immature.

Even during ordinary hunts, he had a habit of abandoning his assigned position.

In any case, the decisive battle would take place the day after tomorrow.

Tomorrow, in accordance with the agreed plan, the Security Corps and the Black Star Society would hunt throughout Zone 3 and raise the gauge to ninety-nine point nine percent.

Then, on the following day, they would fill the remaining zero point one percent and immediately join forces to begin the boss battle.

Alex prayed that every member of the Security Corps participating in the battle would return alive.