Chapter 57: Branch Tower (3)

After China conquered the first Branch Tower and remained indifferent when the Second Branch Tower appeared in Mongolia, the Communication Channel was buzzing all day long.

The majority of people were cursing China for pressuring Mongolia without sharing information about the Branch Tower.

And a few Chinese Climbers were defending him.

Everyone was busy insulting and fighting each other.

While arguments went back and forth, people could only watch to see what would happen to Mongolia, and only the Mongolians themselves were dying of anxiety.

Until suddenly, a message popped up saying the Mongolian Branch Tower had been conquered.

Mongolia, the party involved, quickly stated that even they did not know who had conquered the Branch Tower. If a Climber from another Country had conquered it, something would have been said, but it was news to everyone.

The Tower was conquered, but there was no one who claimed to have done it?

Because of that, people had no choice but to realize who had conquered the Branch Tower.

As usual, people praised him, and China was busy being ridiculed.

—

Clang!

In a luxurious mansion, Wang Kai threw the whiskey glass he was drinking from. The shattered glass and liquor sprayed across the marble floor. Li Wei, a member of the Party’s Central Committee sitting opposite him, flinched before managing his expression. He asked tentatively:

“What happened? Didn’t you say the Difficulty wouldn’t be something Person123 could conquer?”

“…So it seems. It’s ridiculous.”

Wang Kai muttered with a face covered in irritation and anger.

“Isn’t that bastard Level 40? It’s a Difficulty that should be cleared at Level 50 at the minimum.”

He wondered if there was a difference in Difficulty for each Branch Tower, or if Person123 was much stronger than expected. Boiling inside as he watched the ridicule directed at him in the Communication Channel, he turned it off and spoke to Li Wei as if giving an order.

“I get it, so I will definitely conquer the next Branch Tower. As soon as the Third Branch Tower appears, prepare everything so I can move there as quickly as possible.”

“Ahem… for now, I should talk to the higher-ups—”

“What ‘talk’? Are you not going to take the Magic Vein? I’ll feed everything to you, so you guys just support me properly.”

Disrespectful brat, Li Wei cursed inwardly and nodded.

Because Person123 suddenly intervened, they had ridiculously lost the big fish that was Mongolia, but the next Branch Towers had to be secured by China, just as Wang Kai said. Now that a bothersome meddler had started moving, there was no time to gain more through negotiations.

Given Person123’s tendencies, there was a high probability he would try to conquer the next Branch Towers. Wang Kai had to conquer them faster than him. If they could just get the activation rights for the Magic Vein as a Reward, China could negotiate the shares of the Magic Vein from a position of superiority, no matter which country the Branch Tower was in.

“Damn it, acting like some pathetic savior…”

Wang Kai intended to conquer the Third Branch Tower first and show him the difference in their levels. Five days passed as he waited for the Third Branch Tower to appear.

Surprisingly, the Country where the Third Branch Tower appeared was Japan. Following China and Mongolia, it was the third consecutive appearance in Northeast Asia—a staggering coincidence.

Regardless, it was a lucky coincidence for China. The distance wasn’t that far, so they could move to the radius of the Branch Tower quickly. Wang Kai, who was waiting at the airport, moved under the guidance of his attendants as soon as the message appeared.

Reservations? Inspections? Those weren’t necessary when the Party exerted its power. He immediately secured a seat on the fastest flight to Sendai City, Japan, and boarded the plane. Since they couldn’t know which country the Branch Tower would appear in, this was the fastest way rather than a private jet that required prior approval.

It was right after he sat in his first-class seat. Wang Kai took off his sunglasses as he saw the incomprehensible message appearing before his eyes.

“What the fuck.”

It had only been a little over 20 minutes since the Third Branch Tower appeared. But what? Conquered? Unless someone was already within the radius when the Branch Tower appeared, this speed was impossible. Wang Kai, who was gaping in disbelief, muttered:

“This Person123 bastard…”

Was he Japanese?

The Third Branch Tower appeared in Sendai City, Japan. The Japanese Government didn’t even have time to declare an emergency. It was because the Tower was conquered in less than half an hour after its appearance.

The Communication Channel exploded again. It was obvious Person123 had conquered it this time as well, and that wasn’t surprising, but what ignited the controversy was the speed of the conquest.

People buzzed, wondering if Person123’s nationality was actually Japanese. It didn’t make sense otherwise. Mongolia took two days to conquer, but Japan took only 20 minutes. Of course, he could have coincidentally been traveling in Japan and happened to be within the Tower’s radius, but the probability of that was slim.

The Communication Channel burned up, and the atmosphere quickly turned into an established fact that Person123 was Japanese. The Japanese people were the most excited.

The Record Holder of the Nightmare Difficulty and the savior of humanity, Person123, was actually Japanese?! To the Japanese people, who, along with Korea, had not produced a single Nightmare Conqueror, this was a lethal dose of national pride. News media around the world also quickly reported this as breaking news. The World was in an uproar over the controversy of Person123’s Japanese nationality.

—

A while after returning home after conquering the Second Branch Tower. Surprisingly, the country where the Third Branch Tower appeared was Japan.

What is this? Is Northeast Asia cursed?

Regardless, I prepared to fly to Japan as soon as the Tower appeared. The distance to Sendai, Japan, was about 1,300 km. Required Willpower: 130,000. Charging time: approximately 6,000 minutes, or 100 hours.

During the five days after conquering the Mongolian Branch Tower, the Willpower I charged in my spare time, excluding sleep, was about 85 hours’ worth. This time, I only had to charge for 15 more hours to go. Though I’d have to start over from scratch to come back.

I finished charging the Warp Device and moved to Japan immediately.

The Monsters on the early floors were the same. But as I went up, they changed starting from the 5th floor. The Minotaur changed into a Monster like a Triceratops, and the swarm of bats changed into a swarm of insects almost the size of birds. Only the Monsters were different; the Difficulty itself was similar.

I continued the strategy guide and reached the final 10th floor, where the boss that appeared was Dracula.

“…”

When I attacked with Flame Strike, his body turned into blood, scattered, and then clumped back together. Wow… that looks pretty good. His Physical Ability itself was lower than the Black Knight, the boss of the Second Branch Tower. However, the annoying ability to liquefy seemed to make him a tricky Monster.

Of course, everyone is equal before the Destruction Line. When hit directly, he vanished without leaving even a handful of blood.

I cleared the Third Branch Tower easily.

“Ha…”

The reason I sighed was that recharging the Warp Device to go back was more of a torture than the Tower conquest itself. I exited the Tower. I stopped time in a Japanese forest, not knowing exactly where I was, to recharge the Warp Device again and returned home.

When I arrived home, my younger sibling was lying on the sofa watching TV.

“…?”

I was about to go into my room when a ridiculous news report on the TV screen caught my eye.

— The Japanese Branch Tower was conquered in less than 30 minutes. It is assumed that Person123 conquered this as well, and controversy is currently brewing over whether Person123 is Japanese….

What is this nonsense?

“Person123 is Japanese…?”

My younger sibling also muttered in surprise while watching.

“Did you see? They say Person123 is Japanese!”

“Uh… yeah. Right.”

That’s truly surprising. I immediately understood why such an absurd report was coming out. It was because I conquered it too early. Since I crossed over to Japan almost as soon as the Branch Tower appeared. Hmm, now that I think about it, it is understandable that they’d misunderstand.

I checked the Communication Channel, and it was a mess as expected. I turned it off again. Ugh… charging the Warp Device is seriously exhausting. I went into my room without much concern. It was a misunderstanding that would be cleared as soon as I conquered the next Branch Tower anyway.

I’ll just let them enjoy it for a bit.