Chapter 37

Chapter 37: One-Star General

And that wasn't all.

[Wraith Knight defeated.]

[Gold x2,500 acquired.]

[Low-Grade Mana Stone x1 acquired.]

Monsters also dropped Gold and various items.

Now I understand why Gate opened Floor 70.

It was telling me to calm down with the PvP and hunt some monsters.

I agreed.

Why?

One hour of hunting here and I'll become a One-Star General...!

Gold.

Items.

Contribution Points.

Everything kept piling up simply from killing monsters.

Well, that's the privilege of the front-runners.

Better hunting grounds.

Better rewards.

More Gold.

That's why people climbed the Tower.

Not long after I started happily hunting on Floor 70...

"I'll kill you. Kill you, kill you, First-Class Officer!"

Sword returned to Floor 70 with bloodshot eyes and charged directly at me.

[Total Contribution Points: 9,999,889]

Only 111 points left until One-Star General.

My dagger struck a nearby Wraith Knight almost simultaneously with Sword's attack reaching me.

[Wraith Knight defeated.]

[Contribution Points x115 acquired.]

I was slightly faster.

Sword's blade was glowing so brightly with mana that it was difficult to look at directly.

Apparently she intended to pour everything into this strike so she wouldn't repeat her previous mistake.

[Total Contribution Points: 10,000,004]

Then...

CLANG!

"W-What?"

Sword's attack stopped the instant it touched my body.

It was as though an invisible wall had blocked it.

Immediately afterward, a Tower message appeared before everyone's eyes.

[The world's first One-Star General has been born.]

[A General is one who commands subordinates.]

[From this moment onward, PvP inside the Korean Tower has been disabled.]

"What...?"

Sword's blade remained pressed against my side.

A very thin, translucent membrane had appeared between her weapon and my waist.

"You...! What did you do?!"

She was probably shocked for two reasons.

One was the message saying PvP had been disabled.

The other was the [One-Star General] tag above my head.

Judging by how her gaze shifted from the empty air to directly above my head, there was no doubt.

"What do you mean, what did I do? The Tower says One-Star Generals should be treated with care."

"Grrrr...!"

I smiled brightly.

Sword's face turned red and blue with rage.

"From now on, don't call me 'you bastard.' Call me General."

"DIEEEEEE!"

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Sword repeatedly struck me in frustration.

But every attack hit the translucent barrier and scattered only blue sparks.

Then another message appeared.

[In a Tower where Generals exist, PvP may be enabled or disabled through agreement among the Generals.]

[Current number of Generals in the Korean Tower: 1.]

Agreement among the Generals?

[Would you like to enable PvP in the Korean Tower? Yes/No]

"Accept it!"

"No."

Naturally, I selected No.

["No" has received the majority vote. PvP will remain disabled.]

"Y-You coward!"

"Coward? I'm simply exercising a legitimate right granted by the Tower."

"Ugh... You scared bastard! Cowardly Assassin!"

Cowardly Assassin?

For someone with her personality, her insults were surprisingly cute.

Assassins are supposed to be cowards!

If I wanted to fight fairly, I'd have become a Warrior.

So her words did absolutely zero emotional damage.

But the messages still weren't finished.

[With the appearance of a One-Star General, a "Resource War" against another region will begin every Sunday.]

"...Resource War?"

Sword and I voiced the same question almost simultaneously.

[The Korean Tower's first Resource War opponent is the Japanese Tower.]

[Resource Wars are conflicts between factions fought inside and outside the Tower. The winner may claim various interests, including resources.]

[The first Resource War battlefield is the "East Sea Oil Field."]

What?

"The East Sea oil field? Don't tell me..."

At that moment...

[Title: Guys, There's a Giant Barrier or Something Around the East Sea Oil Field. What Is That?]

[Title: Breaking News: Unidentified Supernatural Phenomenon Appears at East Sea Oil Field]

[Title: Is Some Unknown SSS-Rank Hunter Messing Around?]

· 

Look at this. There's some translucent dome-shaped barrier around it. WTF.

· 

[Comments: 46]

· 

Are the workers inside safe?
┗ Apparently nothing's wrong. They can just walk in and out of the barrier normally.

· 

· 

What the hell is it?
┗ The Hunter Association hasn't said anything, so there's a 100% chance they don't know either.

· 

"What in the world is happening?"

Sword sounded confused.

So was I.

She pointed her sword directly at me.

"This is your doing, isn't it?! Put everything back the way it was!"

"Why are you blaming me all of a sudden?"

I was about to protest when...

"An emergency summons from the Association... Tch! Consider yourself lucky, nameless One-Star General."

"A Third-Class Officer sure is rude. You should call me General."

Sword glared at me before leaving the Tower.

I briefly considered hunting a little longer.

Then I decided to leave as well.

Looks like something huge is about to happen.

At times like this, you couldn't miss checking the forums.

Besides, I needed information.

[Title: BEST! Current Theories About the Korean Tower's One-Star General / Recommendations 36,823]

[Title: BEST! Government and Association Statement on the East Sea Oil Field / Recommendations 54,489]

[Title: BEST! Apparently Japan Got a Message Saying They're Going to War With the Korean Tower Too WTF / Recommendations 42,641]

Normally, a post receiving around fifty recommendations was enough to become a Best post.

It got a yellow star and remained pinned near the top.

But right now, posts weren't getting hundreds or thousands.

They were getting tens of thousands.

The star indicating a Best post had gone beyond yellow.

It was completely red.

Heavenly Demon's strategy posts sometimes got orange stars, but even I had never seen a red one.

I opened the "One-Star General Information" post first.

It was about me, after all.

[Title: Current Theories About the Korean Tower's One-Star General]

· 

Based on everything we've learned so far, here's my guess.

· 

1.

Assassin class.

2.

3.

Hunter rank is at least S-rank, possibly higher.

4.

5.

Appears to possess either long-distance instant movement or stealth mobility.

6.

7.

Since he seems to use multiple abilities, he likely possesses at least one A-rank or higher Artifact.

8.

9.

Korean Tower PvP can be switched on/off according to the One-Star General's decision.

10.

"Whoa... This guy's scary accurate."

Number five had been announced to everyone through a system message.

But the rest was surprisingly close too.

Of course, part of the reason was that I hadn't exactly been trying very hard to hide my abilities.

There's not much reason to hide anymore.

My one-on-one encounter with Sword earlier had made me realize something clearly.

Specifically, when her sword struck me directly and sent me flying.

I don't need to be afraid of S-rank Hunters.

Not with this Tower Knights equipment.

Of course, I still had to keep collecting Contribution Points so the power gap wouldn't shrink.

But there's no need to worry.

PvP in the Tower was already disabled.

And I was one of the very few Hunters capable of monopolizing the Floor 70 hunting ground.

This is power.

Enormous power.

I could never let go of this advantage.

The "Disable PvP" privilege was essentially a way of kicking away the ladder behind me.

It prevented latecomers from daring to challenge the General's authority.

Of course, Contribution Points could still be earned through monsters.

So the ladder hadn't disappeared completely.

It was more like the ladder's material had changed from titanium alloy to rotten tree branches.

Then...

Ring!

It was the loan shark.

No.

CEO Park.

"Yes, CEO."

-Hyunwoo, did you see the dome around the East Sea drilling facility?

By "dome," he probably meant that hemispherical barrier.

"Yes. There are pictures everywhere."

-You don't sound like you know what's happening either.

"Anyway, how are things over there? Nothing's gone wrong, right?"

Honestly, my heart had dropped when I first saw the news.

I'd invested my entire fortune there.

-Nothing seems wrong right now. People can freely enter and leave the dome, and no unusual reactions have been detected around it. But...

"But?"

-You saw the Tower's announcement too, right? That "Resource War."

"Yes. Japan is the opponent."

-Right. And it seems like the battlefield is... here.

"But that's mine!"

-That's exactly why this is ridiculous.

I complained like I'd been wronged.

But inwardly, I had an idea why this was happening.

I'm using a cheat to extract the resource, so the Tower is trying to keep me in check.

Maybe the Tower wanted to test whether I deserved exclusive ownership of the oil.

"What happens if we lose?"

-...Japan probably takes the oil.

"But legally, politically, diplomatically... there's no way Japan could just take it."

-The Tower would probably make it happen somehow.

That was true.

The Tower was practically omnipotent.

Human administration?

Law?

Diplomacy?

Justifications?

Those meant nothing to the Tower.

If the omnipotent Tower said something was true, it was true.

If it said otherwise, then it wasn't.

"Hmm. Then I guess there's no choice."

-What?

"We have to win."

After a brief silence, CEO Park answered.

-Right. We have to win.

But how?

That was the important part.

Naturally, I had a method.

"So hurry up and give me some money."

-I can deposit it in two days.

"How much?"

-Nine zeroes. Minimum.

Nine zeroes meant at least one billion won.

That's five top-grade Mana Stones.

I didn't know exactly how the Resource War would work, but it would probably involve PvP.

We'd fight Japanese Hunters until blood flew everywhere.

"All right. I'll wait two days."

-Yeah. Take care. I'm busy as hell too.

He complained about being busy, but his voice sounded secretly delighted.

He's probably controlling countless powerful people with one finger right now.

The loan shark looked exactly like the type of person who'd enjoy that.

Anyway.

The moment the call ended, I opened the Contribution Point Shop.

[Tower Knights Knight Commander's Wings]

-Grade: S

-Damage dealt to fellow humans increased by 40%.

-Damage received from fellow humans decreased by 20%.

-Equipment Requirement: One-Star General or higher [Requirement met] (Can equip)

I purchased it immediately.

[Contribution Points x3,000,000 consumed.]

[Tower Knights Knight Commander's Wings acquired.]

Three million points for one pair of wings...!

Watching my Contribution Points collapse hurt like someone shaving away my bones.

But the performance was definitely worth three million points.

[Available Contribution Points: 1,488,062]

[Total Contribution Points: 10,000,004]

[Current Rank: One-Star General]

I reached another crossroads.

Should I save my points and rush straight toward a full Knight Commander set?

That was probably the most efficient option.

But then I'd have to give up the lower-tier titles.

I agonized for a while.

Then nodded.

If you save everything forever, it turns into shit.

Money existed to be spent.