Chapter 219: Episode 219

Right after the battle with Wayne Jones, while I was going through the belongings of the dead demons, I found a record on the dungeon cam showing that they had sent video files and photos.

Eia immediately began investigating and tracked down the recipient: Secretary Ahn Seokho, who had been working with Frost.

It was obvious. His goal was to screw me over by exposing the true nature of the Magic Tower to the world.

I tried to predict when he would go public with his accusations.

After the Frost incident, every media outlet in the hunter world was fawning over the Hong Yul administration like a bunch of sycophants.

Since the data Secretary Ahn had wasn’t perfect evidence, if he leaked it in some half-baked way, it would just get buried as a rumor.

That was why I figured he would go for the biggest upcoming event: Hunters’ Day.

I immediately began preparations and, after getting the consent of several people, arranged a speech slot right before the Dungeon Research Society, which he belonged to.

To be honest, even if it hadn’t been him, I had already been planning to reveal the truth about the Magic Tower to the public in the near future.

Right now, the Magic Tower’s business was at a standstill. The FDA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, had requested clear data on the potion ingredients and verification of the safety of the manufacturing process, and other countries were taking a similar stance.

The excuse of “I’m a potion specialist” had clearly reached its limit. The issue of verifying magic was being hotly debated not only in Korea but worldwide.

The same went for my next-generation businesses: the warp gate service and the golem item service.

On top of that, trying to run these businesses without revealing the true nature of the Magic Tower had created no end of obstacles. Regulations blocked us at every turn, and there were places we simply couldn’t get into.

I had never thought I could hide it forever. Above all, revealing the truth about the Magic Tower was a given if I wanted to achieve one of my biggest goals: becoming a “World Guild.”

First, a week before the announcement, I scheduled a meeting with the Association President. Since she currently saw me as her savior, this was the perfect moment to make a major play.

The moment we met, I started by apologizing.

“I’m sorry for telling you this so late!”

After the apology, I told her the truth about the Magic Tower.

Of course, I left out the identity of “Oracle,” the entity that controlled the world from the shadows, as well as the detailed information and history of the Magic Tower.

I only told her that I possessed an “Otherworldly Ruin,” and that the Magic Tower and potions came from that Ruin. That was it.

I had spent a fair amount of time with the President. I thought she might get angry that I had kept quiet and deceived her until now.

However—

“Yusiiiin!”

No exaggeration, she went absolutely nuts with joy.

Any hurt feelings about me hiding the truth were completely blown away by the card I put on the table.

The card I played was this: along with revealing the true nature of the Magic Tower, I would publicly declare that the Magic Tower was challenging for World Guild status.

To briefly touch on the current situation, Korea was standing at an important crossroads.

Separate from the Hunter Alliance, a new system called M10 (Member of Ten), led by the United States, had been launched. It was a summit of the ten countries considered the strongest in the hunter world.

The original M5—the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Egypt—would be joined by five more.

Whether a country made it into M10 or not would drastically change its national standing and influence.

Of the new slots, three countries were practically locked in, and about two spots remained open.

Korea, Japan, Canada, and essentially the rest of the world were all fighting over those two seats.

At the moment, Korea had the renowned rank 1 hunter Hong Yul, but that was about it, and the country was being rated lower than its competitors.

Objectively speaking, Korea’s hunter forces weren’t that far behind.

However, because they neglected overseas deployments and focused excessively on domestic activity, their global influence was severely lacking, which was dragging them down.

There was a reason Russia’s Grizzly had called Frost a “nobody,” and the same reason Frost had tried to bring Hong Yeon under his command despite the huge risk.

In other words, the Association President and the Korean government were desperate to get into M10 by any means necessary, and I had just walked in with the news that I possessed the “Magic Tower” and would use its power to challenge for World Guild status.

Of course the President and the government welcomed it with open arms.

If Korea were to become a country that possesses a “World Guild,” it would hardly be an exaggeration to say that an M10 ranking would be absolutely guaranteed.

“I’ll take care of everything, so you just focus on preparing for the World Guild evaluation.” Hong Yul said.

It was a blessing that the entire Korean hunter community was in a transitional period because of Frost. She swiftly revised policies and initiated the process for the Magic Tower to be recognized as a formal guild. Thanks to her cooperation, I was able to secure official, state-recognized ownership of the Tower.

Before today’s announcement, I had revealed the truth to my close acquaintances, from whom I had been hiding the facts. I felt it was the least I could do.

“Good heavens! That tower was an Otherworldly Relic?” Shin Nara was so stunned she nearly fell out of her chair. She seemed to have suspected something was up, but the idea that I possessed a relic from another world was beyond her imagination. Her surprise was fleeting, however, and like a true businesswoman, her mind was already racing. With the new headquarters in Sanggye-dong nearing completion, our global mage development project was about to launch. If the Magic Tower became a recognized World Guild, it would be an incredible boon for Garam, our key business partner. While she called my decision to hide my identity until the end a wise one, her voice held a hint of personal disappointment.

“Wow, you cheap bastard! How could you not even tell me?” Han Yoonjeong’s reaction was, predictably, explosive. But after her initial outburst, she seemed secretly pleased. Muttering that she’d had a feeling, she immediately offered her unconditional support for my bid to join the World Guilds.

“I knew it. My sincerest congratulations, hunter Kim Yusin.” Marcello, who had recently become the leader of the Paladin Order as the new Archbishop, congratulated me with a smile, adding that the time had come to fulfill our promise. He said we should meet at the Alliance headquarters soon.

Of course, I tried to contact Hong Yeon as well, but she was apparently busy at the Antarctic base and couldn’t be reached. I could only imagine the chaos that would erupt when she eventually returned to Korea.

Now, all preparations were complete.

I finished my recollection and opened my eyes. The hall was buzzing with the stunned murmurs of the audience, still reeling from my shocking announcement.

“An Otherworldly Relic?”

“We had something like that in our country?”

“Is that guy in his right mind?”

’Of course I am.’ I smiled faintly and continued.

“That eyesore in Sanggye-dong, the tower that withstood every military assault and repelled all who tried to enter, fueling endless rumors—that is the Otherworldly Relic.”

Watching their bewildered faces, I went on in a calm, even tone. “It hasn’t been long since I was chosen by the Tower. The change in my Unique Ability also occurred after I entered it.”

A few reporters nodded. I was the first case of a hunter’s Unique Ability changing in the country. It was a well-known fact, something any reporter covering the hunter beat would know.

“I sincerely apologize for not being able to inform the public sooner. However, I do not believe my judgment was wrong. Countless guilds, starting with Kalam, coveted the Tower the moment they caught wind of it. More recently, there was the former Association President Frost, and even Unix. Hiding its true nature was an unavoidable choice for survival.”

The mention of Frost sent another wave of murmurs through the crowd. The entire nation now knew that Frost had tried to seize control of Alchemia to get his hands on their potion makers and recipes. I was simply connecting the dots for them.

“Now that the largest force targeting the Magic Tower has been dismantled, I can finally reveal my secret to you all. And I have one more piece of good news.”

The time for apologies was over. I shifted back to a confident posture and spoke, fulfilling the promise I had made to the Association President.

“My Magic Tower will now challenge for a position in the World Guilds.”

The declaration threw the banquet hall into absolute chaos. The impact was so immense it completely erased every other statement made by the dignitaries that day. Reporters and cameramen, who had been filming from their designated spots, surged forward in a wave. The Hunter’s Day ceremony had instantly transformed into my personal press conference.

“The Magic Tower has completed all the formal procedures established by the Association and has been recognized as a Relic-Holding Guild of Korean nationality. All the paperwork is finished. Following that, we submitted a proposal for evaluation to the GlobalAlliance Alliance. And just today,” I paused, looking at the tense faces of the reporters, “we received the Federation’s permission to proceed with the evaluation.”

“Woooooah!”

Fierce cheers erupted from all corners of the hall. The massive bait of a ’World Guild’ had successfully captured everyone’s attention. I turned my head and glanced at Secretary Ahn. He looked like he’d just swallowed something foul.

’No matter how much you scurry, you’re still in the palm of my hand, Frost’s little secretary.’

“Hunter Kim Yusin! What are your plans moving forward?” a reporter shouted.

I cleared my throat lightly. “For now, we will be focusing all our efforts on registering as a World Guild. However, the Magic Tower is preparing various other projects. We plan to reveal everything magic can do to the world, including the development of cheaper, mass-produced potions, a reformation of Circle magic, the sale of golem items, a Warp Gate service, and the management of new dungeons. Please look forward to it.”

The hall buzzed with excitement. Another reporter raised their hand.

“Does the Magic Tower have any plans to recruit new mages?”

“Of course,” I answered without hesitation. “We are creating a guild for mages in partnership with Garam Management. Until now, our capacity was limited, so we couldn’t recruit many people. But we are now planning a large-scale interview process with at least two hundred positions open.”

It was a nice plug for Representative Shin Nara, too. Since it was all out in the open, I might as well go all in.

“From this moment on, I will no longer be operating as the Great Mage, but under the hunter designation Tower Master. Magic is a power that any awakened being can wield. It doesn’t matter if you are combat-oriented, non-combatant, or even classified as a non-combatant. I ask for the interest and participation of all aspiring mages.”

This was my biggest selling point: the benefits of an Otherworldly Relic wouldn’t be limited to a select few like the Paladin Order or the Gravediggers. Anyone who could use mana could enjoy them.

“Look forward to what’s to come,” I said, looking directly into the cameras. “A nation that possesses a World Guild, a member of the M10, and the strongest nation of mages. My Magic Tower will achieve it all!”

“Woooooah!”

It was a crucible of enthusiasm. As if on cue, thunderous cheers erupted, and people leaped to their feet in a standing ovation. Any controversy about me hiding the Tower and deceiving the public had vanished. I had used the materials at hand to make my appeal, and the potential for scandal had transformed into praise.

I turned my head. Behind the stage, I saw Secretary Ahn, his head bowed, quietly slipping away.

* * *

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