Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

“I don’t know how to do that kind of thing, though?”

“That’s why you’ll have to learn from now on.”

“Come to think of it, Hunter Yun Gaho called you ‘Master’ when they came in earlier, didn’t they?”

“Ah, yes. By chance, I became Kallos’s disciple.”

A meaningful smile played on Choi Kwon-young’s face.

“As expected of the World Tower. What an interesting coincidence.”

A red warning light flashed in my head. Catching the attention of this pleasure-seeking individual would be quite troublesome. It was so bad that there was even a rumor among guild members to run away immediately if the Guild Master spoke to you without any official business.

Judging by his smile, it seemed I was already too late. An ominous feeling crept up my spine.

When I came to my senses, I found Choi Kwon-young, smiling like he was posing for a magazine, sitting across from me.

“To think that Hunter Yun Gaho would be the key to solving this situation. How wonderful.”

“They’ll need to learn more from me first. Their current skills aren’t enough.”

“…Are you not going to ask for my opinion on this?”

Choi Kwon-young’s silence was as good as an affirmation.

Someone who didn’t know the situation might have been captivated by the sight of the incredibly handsome Choi Kwon-young sitting with his legs crossed and hands on his knees, but I was just troubled.

I looked to Kallos, hoping he might help, but he casually ignored me.

“Hunter Yun Gaho, do you know about the 76th floor?”

“I only know that it’s currently being conquered.”

The World Tower suddenly appeared one day in the capitals of countries around the world. Each nation’s conquest teams are putting all their efforts into climbing the tower higher and faster than anyone else.

The biggest reason is the enormous reward given to the team that clears a floor for the first time in the world. But that’s not the only reason.

At some point, clearing the World Tower became directly linked to national pride. The World Tower became a stage for countries to show off their strategies and power. The competition for conquest grew fiercer by the day.

True to being the nation of “hurry, hurry,” South Korea stood at the forefront of the competition, neck and neck with superpowers like the United States, China, Japan, and France.

The 76th floor is a level that no country has managed to clear yet. Currently, several countries have been stuck on the 76th floor for months.

Information about floors under conquest is treated with utmost secrecy, so this was all I knew.

“Is the item you’re requesting from Master related to conquering the 76th floor?”

“You catch on quickly. It’s quite a long story, but I’ll try to keep it as concise as possible.”

Crunch- Choi Kwon-young took a bite of his cookie and began his explanation.

“I should start with the story of our collaboration.”

“Collaboration?”

“After all five guild conquest teams failed to conquer the floor, South Korea’s conquest teams changed their approach. An alliance team was formed, which was unprecedented. Hwangya teamed up with White Night.”

“And we found a clue before any other team,” Choi Kwon-young added, brushing his hair back.

Choi Kwon-young began to recount the story of when he first found a clue to clearing the floor.

◆◇◆◇◆

A cold wind cut through their flesh.

Beyond the horizon, a powerful magical barrier that could turn even steel into dust was approaching.

This was the 76th floor.

A world where calamity and humans coexist.

[Entering the 76th floor, ‘The End and The Beginning’.]

Eight silhouettes appeared in the middle of a plain where only wind and remnants of old cities existed.

Unable to bear the stuffiness, Gyeon Ji-woon took off his hood. But it was short-lived; grimacing at the dust assaulting his face, he quickly pulled the hood back on.

“I think I’m getting used to this. How many times has it been now?”

Although it was said to be a scenario floor that takes time, floors are usually conquered within about two months. It had been the longest time since the early days of the World Tower that a conquest had been stalled for so long.

Nevertheless, Choi Kwon-young was enjoying it. Although the collaboration with the White Night guys wasn’t to his liking, it had led them to find a clue.

Han Cha-hyun’s ability to read traces from old things and Gyeon Ji-woon’s ability to steal memories from the dead worked well together. Especially in this place.

“We should be seeing the next Seed Town soon.”

After the great calamity swept through the world, the survivors built high walls and created cities within them.

The NPCs here called them Seed Towns.

With the population reduced to a catastrophic level after the calamity, finding a Seed Town was more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack.

“I can’t believe we haven’t even received the main quest yet.”

“We’re probably on the lucky side.”

“We’ve certainly benefited from the Guild Master’s eccentricity.”

They learned about the Seed Vault when they were searching for the second Seed Town.

Given the setting, there were so many human bones lying around that you could trip over them, and Gyeon Ji-woon habitually picked up bones to use his skill.

Even in the cave where they stayed to spend the night, he instinctively picked up a sacrum rolling on the floor.

The bone belonged to a descendant of someone who had once held a high government position. He had died while traveling to find the Seed Vault he had heard about from his father.

“The Seed Vault, the last hope of this world. Doesn’t this ring a bell?”

A hunter’s intuition is absolute.

From that moment, the conquest team began to inquire about the Seed Vault.

It was around this time that Han Cha-hyun joined the team. As a B-rank hunter, Han Cha-hyun normally wouldn’t have had the skills to participate in a conquest team, but he became a member due to Choi Kwon-young’s strong recommendation.

It didn’t take long for Choi Kwon-young’s judgment to prove correct.

Most of the data had been lost after the great calamity. Due to the extremely harsh environment, people had come to disregard anything that wasn’t necessary for survival. But with Han Cha-hyun, they could gather information even in this world.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Ah, this is it! Documents about the Seed Vault!”

“Finally, we can see the end.”

“The Seed Vault is in a snowy field untouched by human hands. It says that specially made androids guard the entrance to prevent intrusion by those without the passcode…”

“What? A snowy field?”

“With a calamity severe enough to wreck the entire world, surely the androids couldn’t have remained intact?”

As always, ominous premonitions tend to come true.

Defying the passage of time, androids moving as if brand new were guarding the door of the Seed Vault with an iron defense.

“We haven’t even received the main quest yet, and now we’re faced with a raid?”

“Um… am I the only one whose abilities are decreased due to the cold debuff?”

“To think even A-rank cold resistance would be affected by a debuff! Just what kind of difficulty level is this?”

“Let’s set a save point nearby and return for now.”

Everyone except Choi Kwon-young, who had an S-rank cold resistance skill, was affected by the debuff.

The conquest team had to turn back even with the Seed Vault right in front of them.

It took a long time to go back and forth, strategize, and procure necessary items, but Choi Kwon-young was willing to be patient.

The opposing alliance hadn’t even heard about the androids, let alone the Seed Vault.

If they rushed and suffered casualties among the irreplaceable members of the conquest team, that would be even more troublesome.

Achieving victory in one fell swoop after thorough preparation was Choi Kwon-young’s specialty.

[Intruder detected. Exterminate. Exterminate. Exterminate.]

“This is too much for a floor with a personnel limit!”

“Instead of talking, ugh! Focus on defending properly!”

“30 seconds until the area-of-effect skill!”

Although they struggled somewhat, the conquest team managed to defeat the androids safely.

However, even after entering the Seed Vault, the main quest didn’t start.

“What? They said this place could change the world. Why are there only seeds!”

“The World Tower is truly living up to its reputation.”

“Surely we haven’t come all this way for nothing, right?”

Choi Kwon-young could be certain. This was the place.

“This must be it.”

Gyeon Ji-woon agreed with his opinion as well. The conquest team stayed within the Seed Vault, combing through its interior meticulously.

After three days of searching, Na Jung-won from White Night discovered a secret passage leading underground. And at the end of it was a glowing golden safe and a marble altar.

“Doesn’t it seem like we’re supposed to open this safe?”

“It’s so obvious it’s almost off-putting.”

“There’s no… keyhole?”

While everyone was perplexed, Han Cha-hyun stepped forward. A light signaling the activation of a skill shimmered from Han Cha-hyun’s hand as it rested on top of the safe.

“I thought I’d give it a try since it was made before the Great End, and sure enough.”

Han Cha-hyun placed his palm on the altar as he had seen through his skill.

At that moment, mana circuits installed throughout the room, from ceiling to floor, revealed themselves.

The vivid blue circuits lit up, transcending the long passage of time. The circuits’ endpoints were connected to the safe. Soon, the white altar changed like a monitor.

[Please enter the password.]

[_______]

CHOICE. Han Cha-hyun entered the password he had seen in his memory.

With a sound like pages turning, the mana circuits emitted a white light. Eventually, a long vertical groove appeared on the safe.

The excited team members crowded around the safe, closely observing the groove.

“It’s a keyhole!”

“Can’t we use Hunter Han Cha-hyun’s skill to find out where the key is?”

“The World Tower wouldn’t give us the key that easily.”

While the conquest team members were discussing the key, Choi Kwon-young stood at a distance, gazing at the safe.

A hole too smooth, without any irregularities.

It seemed more suitable for inserting a sword rather than a key.

Choi Kwon-young didn’t ignore the sudden thought that occurred to him.

“A hunter’s intuition is absolute, after all.”

Choi Kwon-young immediately snatched the sword from Ma Ji-young, who was standing next to him. Then, without hesitation, he thrust the sword into the groove in the middle of the safe.

[Item rank insufficient! Failed to break the seal. 

※Minimum requirement: L-rank]

“Guild Master! Are you crazy? Why did you put that in there!”

“Guild Master Choi Kwon-young, have you finally lost your mind?”

A startled Ma Ji-young retrieved her sword. Just as Gyeon Ji-woon was about to reprimand Choi Kwon-young, a system message arrived for all party members.

[Main quest, ‘The Secret of the Seed Vault (S)’ has begun.]

[Prerequisite conditions have not been met. Release the seal on the world-altering device!]

“Huh? Guild Master, Guild Master! Look at this!”

“Things have become interesting.”

A smile curved Choi Kwon-young’s lips.

The highest rank of equipment currently in existence was SS-rank. And there weren’t many of those.

Choi Kwon-young glanced at Gyeon Ji-woon’s staff and briefly considered whether to share the message he had just seen with White Night.

“Get along well with Ji-woon.”

But remembering Kim Ji-hwa’s advice, he told the other team members about the text he had seen.

“What? L-rank equipment?”

“Guild Master Gyeon Ji-woon. What floor did that equipment drop on?”

“The 69th floor.”

“It could be obtainable through a special skill.”

After a moment of confusion, the elite hunters of the conquest team quickly calculated the possibilities.

Hunters usually obtain equipment through monster hunting or crafting, but very rarely, high-rank equipment can be rewarded from hidden quests.

Hwangya and White Night began to secretly gather rumors.

Among them, Choi Kwon-young was the busiest. He scoured every floor from the 1st to the 75th.

Days passed without results, but the more time went by, the more certain he became that the answer lay within the World Tower.

And then one day, Choi Kwon-young recalled the 33rd floor he had conquered.

“The Sword That Splits Heaven and Earth.”