Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Ordinary Guy's Tower Conquest Method
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The next morning.
As he was leaving home for his convenience store day shift, Joo-hyuk called his father.
"Dad, are you working hard on your rehab? Has your hip bone healed up nicely?"
- How could it heal that easily? I'm bedridden for half the day. Why'd you call? It's not like home is far, you could've just come over.
"I'm a bit busy, you know. Let's go out for a meal together next time."
His parents' home was also in Seoul.
Two rooms, one kitchen, one bathroom.
Joo-hyuk had started living on his own partly because the house was too small.
They had two grown sons.
When they were young, the brothers had shared a room, but as they grew older, it became incredibly inconvenient.
- Everything okay?
>
"What could possibly go wrong? Just the usual money troubles. Sigh, wouldn't it be nice to Awaken right about now."
He casually probed,
- What would you do if you Awakened? There's no way you'd get that 0.01% chance, but even if you did..., you wouldn't do it, would you!
"Huh?"
- How would you go into the Tower? You're the spitting image of me,
"..."
His father was convinced Joo-hyuk wouldn't act as a Player.
It wasn't a wrong judgment.
They knew each other better than anyone.
"Well, you're not wrong, but..."
- Stop with the pointless daydreams and come home soon. I want to see your face.
The reason Bong Joo-hyuk was an ordinary guy, a normal citizen with a safety-first mindset, was a kind of family trait (?).
What about the other guy who inherited the same genes?
His younger brother was called, Bong Min-hyuk.
"...Anyway, Min-hyuk, if you Awakened, would you go into the Tower?"
- Are you crazy? I'd never go in. I'd quietly spend three months and then just give up.
"I knew it. Ordinary guy bastard."
- What about you? You're an ordinary guy too.
"You little..."
Well, where else would the paternal genes go.
- Anyway, just hang in there a bit longer. I'll graduate soon and lift up the family, then I'll pay you back for what I owe you.
"...You talk a good game."
- I'm sorry. And thank you.
"Yeah, just study hard."
He called his mom too.
"Mom."
- Yes, son, what is it?
"Everything's fine, right?"
- Yep. Doing well. Except for getting fired from the company yesterday.
Huh?
"That doesn't sound like 'doing well'... but why?"
- It's because of this jerk customer. He said he'd give me a good satisfaction rating if I cleaned up all the trash and food waste in his house too. How could I just stand there? I smacked him! So I got fired.
"Ahhh..."
- Don't worry. I'll find another job soon. Don't worry about us, you just live well. And don't even think about sending money again.
His mom was bold and brave.
She couldn't stand injustice.
It was why his dad had fallen head over heels for her,
To the point that his dad's greatest life achievement was asking her out on a date.
'Hmm.'
His pride was hurt.
The wretchedness of the paternal genes.
'...I must have some of mom's genes mixed in. Absolutely! That must be it.'
It was certain.
That's why he had entered the Tower.
'Anyway, I should keep climbing.'
Coincidentally, mom had also lost her job, so the family's source of income was cut off.
He'd heard that floors 1 to 5 were very easy.
'I heard the mortality rate is 0%.'
A kind of tutorial, a practice game.
'I'll go up to floor 5 and then...'
If it's okay, I'll keep going.
If not, then I'll stop.
Work at the convenience store during the day, at the charcoal-grill restaurant at night, and return home to conquer the Tower with John Kosak.
Joo-hyuk's daily plan.
The success of the plan depended on Kosak.
So he always had to be grateful.
He always gave him a perfect 5-star rating too.
"Loy-al! I, I don't know what to do with myself. To give a flawed person like me a 5-star rating..."
"I'd give you 10 stars if I could."
"Hehe, I'm glad you're satisfied."
"On the second floor, what should I..."
"Do? There won't even be time for that. It'll be a 3-minute cut."
"Hahaha, nice."
"Hehehe, nice."
Alright, before we start.
"Can I ask a few things?"
"Oh my! Of course, that's possible."
"When we first met, I heard you say you came from a place with many people?"
"That's correct. There's a large space, and I wait inside it."
"How many people?"
"Oh my, many. I'd say over three hundred."
So there were over three hundred possible gacha (?) characters to summon.
That's a lot.
Their grades were probably all different, though.
"And to leave there...?"
"I need to receive a call to go out. Then I manifest like this, with a physical body."
The 'call' must be the summoning.
"But why the satisfaction rating?"
"The better the rating, the more benefits I gain. For example, there's no need to mention things like manifestation time, grade increases, or increased chances of receiving a call."
"Aha!"
He'd learn the details gradually.
Let's enter the Tower.
The important thing is safety first.
The more you get greedy, the shorter your life.
The mission?
Floor 2 Mission: Defeat 10 Sly Fat Maggots.
⏰ Time Limit: Within 2 hours.
✅ Progress: Sly Fat Maggot 0/10
❌ Failure Condition: Death or mission abandonment
This time, sly maggots.
"I'll finish quickly and escort you home."
"Should we have chicken today? Maybe some beer too..."
"Thank you."
Spirit! Pook! Peeong! Spirit! Pook! Peeong! Spirit! Pook! Peeong...
'Crazy, this is insane.'
An S++ as soon as I enter.
Is it really okay to be this easy?
It's fast, too fast.
'I could even go in and out before my part-time shift in the morning.'
Tower re-entry wasn't on a 24-hour basis but a daily basis, like a game's daily quest.
So the next morning.
Floors 4 and 5 were the same.
Magic Stone rewards were 400g and 500g.
And he still received Platinum Badges.
A total of 5 badges neatly lined up in a corner of his inventory.
'What in the world are these used for...'
Suddenly!
"Oh!"
Trait enhancement.
"Status window."
It stood out immediately.
Simultaneous Summons: 2.
'Does that mean I can have one more person with me?'
Who knew record-breaking could be this good.
It would become even safer.
John Kosak was already mowing down enemies solo.
'If I do a Random Summon, I'll get one more... Ah, right.'
Cooldown, reuse wait time.
He still had over 20 days left before he could use Random Summon again.
'I'll wait until then, summon one more, and have the three of us together...'
No.
'I won't participate in combat, so it'll be two.'
This is a dream.
Let's take it slow from now on.
Until the Random Summon cooldown ends.
I'll climb again tomorrow.
Don't hesitate, go up.
To the 6th floor.
Hannam-dong, Seoul, South Korea.
Tower Player Awakening Management Bureau.
Chief Park Kyung-su waited nervously, palms sweaty, for the Tower's global announcement message.
When would it ring today?
Morning, lunch? Evening? Or late at night?
The timing might differ, but it was clearly the same person.
They were climbing in order.
The global message, the announcement.
Only players affiliated with each Tower could hear it.
That's why many players had gathered in the office.
After a short time passed,
"Huh!"
"...My god!"
"Again?"
Chief Park Kyung-su asked urgently.
"D-did the announcement appear?"
"Yes, it's an S++ grade conquest of Black Tower (Korea) Floor 6."
"Haha..."
An S++ grade conquest announcement for six consecutive days.
Who on earth was it?
'It's definitely someone who Awakened recently.'
Grades were normally calculated based on a player of the appropriate level for the floor conquering it.
Meaning, for the 6th floor, only a Level 6 player could set a record.
'The highest known record right now is A grade,'
He was learning for the first time that something higher existed.
And that an S++ triggered a global announcement.
Who on earth was it?
A possessor of tremendous talent.
If floors 7, 8, 9, 10, all floors conquered from now on were S++ grade...
He absolutely had to find them.
Find them and manage them specially.
If he wasn't careful, another country could snatch them away.
What happens if they get snatched?
If they change nationality, their Tower affiliation changes.
For example,
A player with [Affiliation]: Black Tower (Korea) who moves to Japan and changes nationality becomes [Affiliation]: Black Tower (Japan).
'...Absolutely not!'
It was something he didn't even want to imagine.
'I need to start controlling the entry of Korean-affiliated players first.'
He wasn't sure if it would work.
'I hope a call comes in soon.'
To properly act as a Player, you had to register with the Management Bureau.
A call would probably come soon.
The Tower climb was proceeding smoothly, step by step.
"Today is the 8th floor, right?"
"Yep!"
Floors 1~5 were the tutorial, floors 6~10 were the section for shedding the beginner tag.
"Let's do well. I'll also join in gradually..."
"No! I'll be doing it alone, not together!"
"Hmm, but if you, Mr. Kosak, end up in a dangerous situation..."
"Oh my, that won't happen, but if it does, just curse at me from behind. It's because I'm stupid."
He wasn't sure if this was okay.
Yesterday was the 7th floor.
The mission was to break through a monster horde and retrieve a flag located on a high hill.
It was ridiculously simple.
The monsters couldn't handle Kosak's lightning-fast speed.
Again, S++ grade and a Platinum Badge.
The 8th floor?
Upon entering the Tower.
Mission: Defeat 10 Red Thorn Frog Warriors.
A swampy terrain where your feet sink deep.
And frog warriors.
They were small but scary.
Unlike the maggots and larvae so far, they had mouths and long tongues.
Luckily, they had no teeth, but...
Actually, he didn't even get a chance to look closely.
Pa pa pa pat!
John Kosak dashed at a terrifying speed, stepping in a zigzag pattern.
Whoosh!
Whirrit!
A tongue of a Red Thorn Frog Warrior flying towards Kosak.
Shwick!
The long tongue was severed in mid-air.
Ziiiiing!
Kosak's dagger lengthened due to sword energy.
Shwick! Shwekk! Shwekkekkekk!
Fragments of frog flesh flying everywhere.
They couldn't withstand John Kosak's sword energy.
Poo poo pook! Pook pook pook!
"Gya-gul, gyaaa-gul..."
Stab!
Thud!
Spot!
Back in Joo-hyuk's studio apartment.
"You worked hard again today!"
"I didn't do anything, what hard work."
"Entering the Tower itself is the hardest task. Once you're inside, I'll handle everything."
The 'hard work' was ultimately just entering the Tower.
"Anyway, it's easy. It ends so quickly."
Of course, it wasn't him but Kosak doing it.
"But you mustn't let your guard down. It will gradually get harder as you go up. Especially from the latter half of floor 10, you can't take it lightly."
Right.
He absolutely must not let his guard down.
Joo-hyuk knew that well too.
Was it because he was strong?
It was thanks to Kosak's abilities.
A person must know their place.
That's how you live long.
Anyway, another sub-3-minute run today.
Should he give a gift to Kosak, who worked hard?
He took out 50,000 won from his wallet.
"There's still plenty of time left, so go out and have fun before you go back. Eat something delicious, just don't cause any trouble."
"I can't!"
"Why not?"
"I cannot leave Summoner Bong's side. I'll just watch TV at home."
"Hmm."
This wasn't due to the principle of absolute obedience either.
It must be because of Principle 1.
Prioritize the Summoner's life.
"Should I order some chicken?"
"Oooh! Good!"
He opened a delivery app and ordered one chicken.
'Let's check the rewards.'
First, the new reward, Tower Exclusive Healing Potion.
As the name suggests, Tower exclusive.
Couldn't be used in reality, and he had no use for it himself.
'I can just give it to Mr. Kosak.'
Speaking of which, what about these Magic Stones?
The cumulative amount so far was 3.6kg.
Even so, it was just a handful.
It was a rock, but its density was high, so its volume was small relative to its weight.
'I've earned 1.8 million won.'
If I sell it, that is.
What's the point of just storing it in the inventory?
I need to cash it in.
But selling Magic Stones.
That was a problem that would require a lot of thought.
In fact, a task far more difficult than climbing the Tower awaited Joo-hyuk.