Chapter 38: One-Star General
Let's see... Which pieces I'm currently wearing are the weakest?
All my armor pieces.
Bracelet.
Earrings.
Rings.
Those were still Knight Team Leader grade.
I already have the full Knight Team Leader title, so there's no reason to hesitate.
I decided to replace one bracelet, one earring, and one ring.
[Tower Knights Knight Unit Leader's Bracelet acquired.]
[Tower Knights Knight Unit Leader's Ring acquired.]
[Tower Knights Knight Unit Leader's Earring acquired.]
I could have upgraded the bracelet directly to Knight Captain grade, but...
Let's aim for the Knight Unit Leader title too.
At this point, almost nobody could even equip Knight Team Leader equipment, which was two entire tiers below Knight Captain.
According to the Contribution Point requirements, someone barely reaching Third-Class Officer can just about complete the Squad Leader set.
Anyway.
Those upgrades erased another 1.2 million Contribution Points.
I calculated my new stats.
First, damage dealt to fellow humans.
Bracelet: +5%.
Earring: +10%.
Ring: +10%.
Total: +25%.
Next, damage reduction from fellow humans.
Bracelet, earring, and ring each gave +5%.
Total: +15%.
In other words, my bonus damage rose by 25%.
My damage reduction rose by 15%.
And now the eight-piece Knight Unit Leader set bonus activates, giving another +5% to both damage and damage reduction.
Overall upgrade:
+30% damage dealt.
+20% damage reduction.
Numbers most people couldn't even dream of.
Would Sword's attacks even hurt me now?
Earlier, when Sword hit me, it hadn't hurt much.
Still, there had been a noticeable heavy impact.
Sword was a Third-Class Officer, so by now she probably had the full Squad Leader set.
But with this much additional damage reduction?
I felt like Sword's attacks might actually tickle.
And finally!
[First General]
-Grade: A
-Damage dealt to enemies increased by 5%.
-Damage received from enemies reduced by 5%.
It was the A-rank title I received upon becoming a One-Star General.
This is... significant.
Five percent might not sound like much.
But the "First General" title had no "fellow human" restriction.
Whether I fought a monster or a person, I gained 5% increased damage and 5% damage reduction.
I became increasingly certain that I could never afford to lose the privileges of being one of the front-runners.
Meanwhile, shortly before Choi Hyunwoo became a One-Star General.
Inside the Japanese Tower.
Slash!
"Ugh!"
A blade flashed.
Blood sprayed over the grass before disappearing like a hologram.
"Damn it!"
A man stepped backward in horror after watching his companion get cut in half with a single strike.
"What are you doing? If you challenged me, shouldn't you fight to the end?"
"S-Stay away! You monster...!"
Japan's S-rank Hunter and top ranker.
Katana.
She raised her blade at an angle with a cruel smile.
Her sword flashed again.
The man followed his companion out of the Tower.
[Total Contribution Points: 2,414,648]
Only ninety thousand more until Second-Class Officer.
To Katana, PvP inside the Tower was simply a fun game.
She didn't even need to search for prey.
There were plenty of fools willing to challenge her.
Then...
[The world's first One-Star General has appeared in the Korean Tower!]
[A Tower containing a General will now participate in Resource Wars.]
[Opponent: Japanese Tower. Battlefield: East Sea Oil Field.]
"...?"
Katana's eyebrow twitched.
Three sentences floated before her.
They used vocabulary simple enough for an elementary school student.
Yet she still needed a moment to process them.
"We're having a Resource War against Korea? Over the East Sea oil field?"
She knew what the East Sea oil field was.
It had become one of the loudest issues in Japan.
Japanese news channels and current-affairs programs were full of reports claiming the shameless Republic of Korea was stealing Japan's resources.
Some claimed the United States was backing Korea.
Katana had never cared about those noisy issues.
Politics.
Diplomacy.
International affairs.
All of it was trivial to her.
Her entire life revolved around one simple question.
What would she cut today?
What would she defeat tomorrow?
But this was different.
We're fighting Korea over the East Sea oil field?
Why?
How?
In what way?
A smile slowly spread across Katana's lips.
"A Resource War... Are you telling us to fight a war over oil drilling rights?"
[Correct.]
"Wouldn't that cause enormous diplomatic problems? Who guarantees those drilling rights?"
[The Tower guarantees them.]
"Ha!"
Then there was no reason to refuse.
Because she wanted to steal Korea's resources?
No.
War.
There'll be plenty of people to cut down.
That was all Katana cared about.
Who ultimately owned the resources meant nothing to her.
Then an emergency message arrived through Katana's Hunter Inventory account.
[Title: Emergency Mobilization Request for S-Rank Hunters from the Hunter Agency]
[Sender: HunterAgencyEmployee123]
-Report to the Hunter Agency immediately upon receiving this message. Third-Class Officers in particular are required to attend. (￣^￣)ゞ
Katana stared at the hologram briefly.
Then she disappeared from the Tower.
Japan Hunter Agency Meeting Room.
"A One-Star General appeared in Korea."
Inferno spoke with a grin, black flames dancing over his palm.
Katana answered indifferently.
"So what?"
"This is no ordinary matter, Ms. Katana."
The Director of Japan's Hunter Agency interlaced his fingers on the table.
His voice was heavy.
"Hunters are national power. The number and rank of powerful Hunters directly translate into political and diplomatic influence internationally."
"I've heard that a hundred times. So why did you call us here? And why specifically people who reached Third-Class Officer? Our friendly match with Korea is coming up too."
Katana looked over the people seated in the room.
Inferno.
Asura.
Yaksha.
And others.
Every face was familiar.
"The friendly match with Korea has been completely canceled."
The atmosphere sank.
The Hunter Agency had been pushing the event with all its strength.
Canceling it so suddenly was unusual.
Yet everyone seemed to understand.
The Director continued.
"The higher-ups decided that we cannot expose Japan's combat capabilities immediately before the Resource War."
"Huh. But wouldn't the Koreans expose their capabilities too if we held the friendly match?"
Inferno asked.
The Director nodded.
"That is true. However, Japan is considering one possibility."
"Possibility?"
"That this Resource War... may not end after a single battle."
The Hunters exchanged glances.
They remembered the Tower's message.
Resource Wars would take place every Wednesday.
"Hmph. Once, twice, three times. Who cares? We just kill them all every time."
Asura spoke.
The Director looked at him.
"Can you?"
"Hahaha! You seriously think we'd lose to Koreans?"
"Naturally, Japan has the advantage. However, Korea is the country that produced a One-Star General. We cannot underestimate them."
"Pfft. One-Star General? So what?"
It sounded dismissive.
Yaksha still nodded.
"For once, I agree with Asura, Director. Tower Contribution rankings are nothing more than titles. The only things that truly matter are ability grades granted by the Tower and rankings determined through the Hunter Agency's strict standards."
"Hmm."
The Director's doubtful gaze moved around the room.
When Katana met his eyes, she nodded too.
"He's right. A higher rank doesn't increase someone's ability grade."
"Exactly, Director. Rank merely represents the approximate amount of accumulated Contribution Points. In theory, even an F-rank Hunter could become a One-Star General if they accumulated enough points."
Asura continued.
"Rather than that One-Star General, the people we should really pay attention to are Korea's established S-rank rankers."
The Director turned toward him.
"Established S-rank rankers?"
"Yes. Sword and Fist. Light, who stopped climbing the Tower long ago but recently returned. And newer powerhouses like Hero."
Katana's eyes briefly lit up at the mention of Korea's S-rank rankers.
"I've heard those nicknames many times. I've always wanted to fight them someday. I was disappointed that the friendly match was canceled, but this is even better."
Her smile deepened.
"Instead of some fake sparring match, we get a real battle with blood and flesh flying everywhere."
Not for a second did Katana imagine herself losing.
"Very well. Then I will trust all of you."
The Director smiled faintly.
It wasn't that he lacked information.
He simply liked seeing Japan's S-rank rankers display such confidence.
Even from his perspective, imagining Japan losing was difficult.
The only question was how overwhelming Japan's victory would be.
Then his expression darkened.
"If the Resource War is not a one-time event, then the first battle this Wednesday, three days from now, will be more important than anything. Do you know why?"
The S-rank Hunters stared at him with curiosity.
The Director smiled coldly.
"The most important thing in war is morale. We must crush them so thoroughly in the first battle that they never dare challenge us again."
"Oh?"
"Hmm."
Inferno's lips curled upward.
"I understand exactly what you're saying, Director. Hahahaha."
Fwoosh!
His flames flashed brilliantly across the room.
"Then I look forward to your performance."
The important thing was...
Japan had absolutely no idea that the person who had stabbed Asura and Yaksha in the back, demoting both of them to High-Rank NCO, was none other than One-Star General Choi Hyunwoo.
Of course, Korea didn't know either.
Meanwhile, inside the Korean Hunter Association meeting room.
"What's the possibility that Japan makes a military move?"
The Chairman asked while carefully reviewing documents.
A reporter answered.
"Close to zero percent. The Resource War this Wednesday is already Japan's opportunity to legally seize the East Sea oil field."
BANG!
The Chairman slammed his fist onto the table.
"What?! Legally?! Who dares describe territorial intrusion and resource plunder with the word 'legal'?!"
At first glance, the reporter's words could sound almost traitorous.
But nobody could fairly blame him.
His job was to look directly at reality and report it to his superior.
He was merely fulfilling his duty.
The reporter continued heavily.
"The Tower... does."
"...Damn it."
"The public is worried that the oil field we worked so hard to discover may be taken by Japan."
The reporter displayed community posts on the screen.
[BEST] Breaking: What's That Dome Around the East Sea Oil Field?
[BEST] The More I Read the Tower Announcement, the Scarier It Gets
[BEST] Japan's Atmosphere Looks Crazy Right Now
[BEST] Breaking: Japanese Hunter Agency Summons Every S-Rank Ranker WTF
There was nothing strange about monitoring public opinion like this.
Governments and corporations regularly watched social media and online communities.
"Prepare a press conference!"
The Chairman stood.
"We will announce that we will do everything in our power to protect the Republic of Korea's territorial sovereignty and F&C Refining Corporation's exclusive right to extract resources from the East Sea oil field!"
A while later, the Chairman held a press conference.
The moment he heard the phrase, "protect F&C Refining Corporation's exclusive oil extraction rights," the loan shark watching the news slowly smiled.
"Now that a foreign threat has become real, even the government and Association have officially recognized F&C Refining's exclusive rights."
He exhaled cigar smoke.
"My era has arrived."
His subordinate bent forward at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
"Congratulations, Boss."
The gold ring on the loan shark's finger gleamed.
