After the Tower appeared, many nations faced chaos. However, there were a few nations that actually improved with the Tower's appearance. The most representative among them was the People's Republic of China.
Before the Tower, China had picked a fight with the United States, only to be staggered by a one-two punch. But once the Tower appeared, their situation paradoxically improved. The reason was simple.
"China has over 1.3 billion potential Hunters, and China can treat those Hunters like pigs and dogs."
When it came to dealing with this Tower, there was no better state system than China's. That is to say, the only country that could fold up something like human rights about eight times and throw it in the trash was perhaps North Korea. Of course, that didn't mean the Chinese Communist Party simply rounded up Hunters and exploited them.
On the contrary, the Chinese Communist Party, which preached equality but was more stratified than any other, gave the Hunters a carrot even sweeter than the whip. To be a skilled Hunter in China meant receiving treatment on par with a Communist Party official.
So everyone wanted to become a Hunter, and they tackled the Tower more aggressively than ever before. Thanks to that, the level of Chinese Hunters came to rival that of the United States, competing for the top spot.
"There are many Guilds in China, but at the very top, there are three."
Even in such a country, the three most powerful Guilds were these.
"Those who wish to climb the Tower, go to the White Forest (林). Those who are mad for the Tower, go to the Mad Forest (林). And those who are mad for money, go to the Black Forest (黑林)!"
White Forest, Mad Forest, Black Forest. China's Hunters would join one of those three Guilds according to their own goals and dispositions. This naturally led everyone to ask a question.
If money was the goal, why go to the Black Forest? The Black Forest did not answer that question. Instead, they simply showed them.
A portion of the immense wealth accumulated by the Chinese Communist Party. In any case, every single Hunter mad for money contacted the Black Forest at least once, without exception. That was the power of the Black Forest Guild.
That extremely valuable information would first come to the Black Forest Guild. This time was no different.
"Information from the Comet Guild has arrived. It seems the Comet Guild is preparing something huge."
"Something huge?"
"I don't know the details, but it seems they're gathering 1st floor specialists to conquer the 1st floor. It must be because of that announcement."
Another historic opportunity had come to the Black Forest Guild, and facing this opportunity, the Black Forest Guild acted just as you'd expect. Xu Kaicheng, ranked 10th in the Black Forest Guild, said to his subordinate.
"Ten million dollars for accurate information."
He guaranteed a staggering sum. Of course, if this were all, the Black Forest Guild would never have gained its infamous reputation. There was a reason they said those mad for money should go to the Black Forest Guild.
The Black Forest Guild, they would do anything for money.
"Fifty million dollars to kill the one who completes that mission."
Even his subordinates were shocked.
"Isn't that too large a sum?"
It was an era where Hunters earned a lot of money, but even so, only a very small number of Hunters could receive a sum of tens of billions of won at once. In terms of the Tower, it was only possible for those who could clear at least the 40th floor.
No matter how much of a specialist they were, it wasn't an amount that could be paid for a Hunter on the mere 1st floor.
"Logically, it's impossible to kill someone with that much power inside the Tower."
So, Xu Kaicheng made a proposal that defied common sense.
"That's why we must offer an amount that will shake that common sense. Then, the moment an opportunity arises, their heart will waver. The Tower is always full of crises, after all. Therefore, someone will betray him."
At the same time, Xu Kaicheng believed.
"I think I can already hear it. The sound of the Comet Guild's rising star screaming."
“Kuaaaack!”
In the Tower's 1st floor, where only moonlight pierced the darkness, in the Floor King's domain, a scream echoed. At that scream, Lee Ji-soo and the other veteran 1st floor specialist Hunters of the Comet Guild, who had worn themselves out fighting goblins on the 1st floor, shuddered. They felt fear.
But it wasn't a fear of goblins.
[You have defeated a goblin!]
"As expected, fishing is more fun when the bait is fresh."
It was a fear directed at Park Jin-soo, who was slaughtering the goblins that swarmed in after hearing the scream. Moreover, that wasn't the only horror Park Jin-soo displayed.
"Alright, another tower completed here!"
Park Jin-soo gathered the corpses of the goblins he had killed and piled them into a mountain, or rather, a tower.
"Could you give me a hand over there? Just piling them up doesn't spread the smell of blood enough, so please chop them up a bit and scatter the pieces around. Make it reek of blood. I'd do it myself, but there are just too many."
Park Jin-soo even demanded their participation in the process. For Lee Ji-soo and the other Comet Guild Hunters, it was enough to make their minds go blank.
"Why on earth are you doing this?"
"Oh, well, you see, the goblin guys never set foot in places they know are dangerous. So if we leave a mark like this, they won't even come near this area. This is how you block the goblin bastards."
"Pardon?"
"It's hard to catch the goblin guys once they start running, right? It's easier if you claim territory like this. You should try it next time!"
But what was even more chilling was that the reason for this act was so perfectly logical. This pinnacle of insanity, this crazy act, was actually the most effective method in the Tower. It was then that Lee Ji-soo realized.
'The Chief Secretary was right.' Regardless of Park Jin-soo's humanity or his sins, at least in the world of the Tower, Park Jin-soo was the answer. Because the Tower was a world where those who conquered it, those who climbed it, were unconditionally correct.
What's more, Park Jin-soo hadn't just climbed. 'If it wasn't for this method, he would have never discovered the Floor King.' He had made a new discovery.
He had achieved what no one had ever accomplished, discovered what no one had ever found. From that moment on, Lee Ji-soo changed her way of thinking.
"Noona, who on earth is this person?"
"You don't need to know who he is. What's important is that we must support the Floor King conquest unconditionally."
She suppressed her personal feelings and focused on the current situation.
"So we have to go along with that crazy act?"
"Whether you complain, get annoyed, or hand in your resignation, let's do all of that after we get the Return Ticket."
“Ah!”
Furthermore, to return, they had to catch the truly mind-boggling number of 99,999 goblins.
"Survival first."
In fact, from that perspective, everyone except Kim Jae-byeong was in a very serious crisis.
"It's an absurd number."
Even something as simple as picking up coins off the ground nearly 100,000 times would break your back and ruin your knees. But they had to kill 100,000 goblins? Moreover, there was one very important problem in the Tower.
"Considering our food supply, we can't last even a week."
You could only enter the Tower with items obtained within the Tower, and among those, edible food and provisions for Hunters were extremely limited.
Eating monsters.
That was not an option. The moment you ate most monsters, you'd suffer from such a severe stomachache that it was better not to have eaten at all.
Also, the item window for Hunters below level 10 was limited to nine slots, so even if they had a lot of food, it was impossible to bring all of it as they pleased. That was why the top priority for Hunters climbing the Tower was to handle everything within 24 hours.
That was why everyone's head spun when the 100,000-kill mission was given. In any case, the change in attitude from everyone, including Lee Ji-soo, was a welcome development for Park Jin-soo.
"Ah, so there is a food problem."
Having heard the detailed explanation, he too realized that killing 100,000 was by no means an easy task.
"You can't eat the monsters either, right?"
"Yes, if you eat them, you'll shit blood."
"Are they that inedible?"
"It's not a metaphor, you literally shit blood."
At that, Park Jin-soo furtively glanced at Kim Jae-byeong and thought. 'We could last a long time if we ate a person, but if I say that, they'll really see me as a madman, won't they?' Of course, Park Jin-soo had at least a shred of reason and common sense, so he didn't voice that thought.
"Then we'll have to kill them quickly. I'll work hard."
"I'll help too. I can't kill them as fast as you, but I'll watch your back."
As she spoke, Lee Ji-soo drew a dagger. She too was a Hunter skilled in killing goblins. The others were the same.
"Then including me, the three of us will be slicing up the goblins."
A man with a small build said, pulling out a machete.
"Leave the swarming ones to the three of us."
"We might not be good at killing them, but we're confident in blocking them!"
"If it gets dangerous, we'll charge right in, so fall back."
Three burly men said, showing off the incredibly heavy iron shields they had brought. They were the tankers.
"The two of us will provide rear support."
Also, the two remaining female Hunters showed their bow and crossbow, respectively. At that moment, Park Jin-soo tilted his head. Three close-range attackers including himself, three tankers, two long-range attackers, and one bait screaming on the floor.
That meant there was one person left.
"Excuse me, what is that person's role?"
"Healer."
And that one person's position was to be responsible for the lifeline of everyone here.
"Huh? There's a healer too?"
Park Jin-soo was greatly surprised by this fact.
"Then, is healing possible?"
At his surprise, Lee Ji-soo gave an awkward smile. To think that a man who knew so little about the Tower could achieve such an unbelievable feat? 'No, it's possible because he doesn't know.'
On the other hand, it was his lack of common sense that had created the current result. After all, no Hunter with common sense would kill over 10,000 goblins just because they were told to.
"To what extent is healing possible?"
Moreover, there was no malice in Park Jin-soo's question. It was a pure question, and so Lee Ji-soo finally relaxed her expression and her guard, and spoke.
"The number of uses is limited, but on a 6-hour basis, even severed limbs can be reattached."
"Then it's not difficult to stop the bleeding even if a finger or toe is cut off?"
"That's right."
At that point, Lee Ji-soo offered some heartfelt advice.
"But that doesn't mean you can fight without regard for your body. There are side effects after healing."
"Side effects?"
"Severe itching, burning pain, throbbing, and the like."
"Is it painful?"
"It's on a level of being slightly better than dying."
"Oh!"
At those words, Park Jin-soo's face lit up as he said.
"Then that's even better."
"Even better?"
In that moment, Lee Ji-soo felt something was wrong, and Park Jin-soo showed her exactly what it was.
"Then if we use a heal on that bait, he'll writhe in pain, right? That's really wonderful!"
That the man before her was a villain whose very way of thinking was different. Realizing this, Park Jin-soo approached the nearly unconscious Kim Jae-byeong with light steps, and then brought his hammer down on one of Kim Jae-byeong's remaining seven fingers, and spoke.
“Kuaaaack!”
Kim Jae-byeong, who had regained consciousness, immediately said reflexively.
"I, I told you. Th-the Black Forest Guild. I, I, I made a, a deal with the Black Forest Guild."
He had confessed everything, so why was he being tormented?
"Yeah, you made a deal. So what?"
At those words, Park Jin-soo tilted his head.
"Don't tell me you were planning to get out of here alive?"
"Wha-what?"
"What a funny guy. Hey, you sold out your country. For a few bucks, you sold information on Hunters who were working hard for their country. Because of that, some Hunters probably died. Then isn't it only right for you to die? You sold out your country without even accepting that much risk?"
"Y-y-you said you'd, you'd let me live?"
"That's because I had to give you hope so you'd open your mouth. But why should I keep a promise like that with you? There are no prosecutors or judges here."
At that point, Park Jin-soo said in a low voice.
"And I pulled this same shit even where there were prosecutors and judges."
At those words, Kim Jae-byeong was rendered speechless. Park Jin-soo turned his head away from him and said.
"Heal him once over here! Make it very painful!"
A moment later.
Kuaaaaaack!
Kim Jae-byeong's scream erupted, and at the sound of that scream, goblins immediately began to swarm.
"Miss Lee Ji-soo."
Facing the goblin horde, Park Jin-soo spoke to Lee Ji-soo beside him.
"Please speak."
"You're going through a lot of trouble because of me."
"Pardon?"
"I don't have the luxury to buy you a meal or a coffee, but still, if I get the chance later, I'll do anything for you."
In that instant, Lee Ji-soo was now certain. 'This is true madness.' Why Kim Jeong-bin gave this death row inmate a chance, and why he moved with all his might for this death row inmate.
'A true madness that surpasses the Tower.' And in the face of that certainty, Park Jin-soo showed them.
"Alright then, I'm counting on all of you! Fighting! Let's muster our strength and tear those goblin bastards apart! No, I have a hammer, so I can't tear them. Let's smash them!"
He showed them an overwhelming hunt. And so, 62 hours, 33 minutes, and 42 seconds after entering the Tower, [You have defeated 99,999 goblins.]
[A Return Ticket has been issued.]
The Return Mission was complete.