The Tower - Slime Summoner (4)
Lee Suyoung’s style of combat was remarkably straightforward. Whenever she spotted a goblin, she would conceal herself in the underbrush and send her blue slime—the one capable of firing a condensed sphere of water, a Water Sphere—in the opposite direction. Once the slime drew first blood by blasting a goblin with a Water Sphere, Suyoung would loose an arrow to pick off a second one.
If a third goblin appeared, she would either fire another arrow or use her shield to buy time until her slime’s cooldown reset, allowing it to finish the beast with another Water Sphere. She was a textbook ranged damage dealer.
At her current level, the cooldown for the Water Sphere was about one minute for a single shot, and roughly three minutes if she attempted to fire two in rapid succession.
"Where's your shield?" I asked.
"Oh, that... I ditched it while the goblins were chasing me because it was too heavy. I'm planning to buy a new one once we get to the Association."
To be fair, those shields were quite hefty. Weighing well over a kilogram, they couldn't even fit into a basic inventory.
Before running into me, Suyoung had already hunted down about three packs of goblins, securing ten ears and ten mana stones. As for me, I had claimed eighteen of the twenty goblins that had been pursuing her, stuffing their ears into my pack, and killed a few more on our trek back to the city. We agreed to split the spoils fifty-fifty for now.
"By the way, do you have a thing for the military, Oppa? That backpack looks like army issue."
"Not really. I was dragged into the Tower on the exact day of my military discharge. Yesterday was supposed to be my first day of freedom."
Suyoung shot me a look of profound pity. Despite her sympathy, I remained entirely unfazed. To my internal clock, my discharge date felt like three or four years ago. Sure, I hadn't gotten to enjoy the sweet freedom of college life, but I had spent the last few years being pampered from head to toe as a baby under Siwoo's doting care.
I really shouldn't get used to this, but having someone cater to your every whim is incredibly comfortable. Goo-goo, gaga, I'm baby Jiwoo. Somebody pamper me. I don't want to grow up, and I definitely don't want to join the workforce.
"You don't have to look at me like that," I said. "Honestly, I'm glad I got summoned now, while I'm in the best physical shape of my life. Imagine if I'd been dragged here years later as an out-of-shape, sedentary office worker."
Suyoung nodded in hearty agreement.
"Pfft, hahaha! You've got a point there. And hey, we can always leave the Tower whenever we want anyway."
She probably thought leaving was a waste since you could never re-enter once you walked away. Then again, even if my physical body were in worse shape, would it really matter given the nature of my Multidimensional Avatar ability?
I brushed the idle thoughts aside and turned to her. "Hey, about your slime. Can it fire smaller, rapid-fire bursts of water instead of one big sphere?"
"Its accuracy is practically flawless. Even if the individual impact is weaker, aiming for vital spots like the eyes, solar plexus, or groin should deal more than enough damage."
"Ah... I've tried that a few times, but it's still too difficult for now. I think it'll be possible once it levels up, though! Back at Level 1, it could only fire a single Water Sphere at a time."
I wasn't familiar with the growth mechanics of summoning-type abilities, but judging by the sheer volume of mana Suyoung absorbed, she would likely level up in no time.
Suyoung proudly introduced her companions. "This blue one is 'Water Balloon,' and the yellow one is 'Light Balloon.' But I just call them Mulpung-i and Bitpung-i."
She named them Water Balloon and Light Balloon just because they look like balloons? Ridiculously literal, but I suppose it fits.
"I summoned Mulpung-i on the 1st floor, and I got Bitpung-i when I reached the 10th. You've already seen everything they can do."
The blue slime fired water projectiles, while the yellow slime emitted blinding flashes of light. Just as I had unlocked Reincarnation and 3rd-Person Avatar at Level 10 alongside my second slot, she had undoubtedly received other auxiliary abilities. However, she chose to keep them to herself.
Honestly, I preferred it this way. If she had laid all her cards on the table before we even formed an official party, I would have been disappointed by her naivety and lectured her on trusting strangers too easily. You only reveal your hand once a solid foundation of trust has been built. No matter how talented someone is, a loose tongue is an instant dealbreaker for a party member. Who knows where they might casually leak my information?
In that regard, her decision to share only what was necessary while keeping her trump cards hidden earned her major bonus points in my book.
"What about your ability, Oppa?"
"Me? My ability is martial arts. I got swordsmanship on the 1st floor, and cultivation and footwork on the 10th."
Naturally, I had no intention of revealing my full hand either. Frankly, even if I did, it would only expose the fact that I didn't possess any flashy supernatural powers. While others conjured firestorms and summoned monsters, my only real trick in the Tower was that I could resurrect after a cooldown if I died. Granted, that was an incredibly broken ability in its own right, but telling someone that my physical body was essentially just an ordinary human sandwiched between superhumans felt a bit awkward.
"Whoa! No wonder you're so amazing with a sword! If you have a cultivation method, does that mean you can actually use inner qi like in those martial arts novels? Can you do stuff like step on thin air or run across water?"
How does a high school girl even know about wuxia tropes? Ah, right. I suppose those female-oriented romance novels with a dash of martial arts are quite popular these days.
"You know, in those novels, stepping on air and running on water are techniques reserved for absolute masters who have reached incredibly high realms," I replied dryly.
Chatting about this and that, we soon arrived back at the city. The moment we entered the city gates, Suyoung guided me straight toward the Climbers' Association.
The Association building resembled a spacious tavern, and it seemed they actually served food and alcohol inside. Suyoung headed toward a young man seated at the central counter. I leaned in and whispered to her.
"Is he one of the Tower's Emissaries too?"
"Huh? No, I heard he's just a First Settler. A full-time employee. Apparently, he got married last year, and his wife had a baby two months ago."
Ah, so he's just a regular employee, unlike the Old Librarian or the Old Woman who expanded my inventory. But seriously, how on earth does she know his entire life story?
Suyoung chatted and laughed with the receptionist as if they were lifelong friends. With social skills like this, she was practically a human quokka. After exchanging pleasantries, Suyoung touched the crystal resting on the counter and pulled out a sack filled with goblin ears.
"Here you go!"
"Ah, yes. Goblin ears received. Seventeen in total. Here is your payment of 1,700 credits and 17 contribution points."
The receptionist handed over 1,700 credits along with a couple of physical tags. One, about the size of two finger joints, was marked with '10 points,' while another, the size of a single joint, was marked with '1 point.'
"Oppa, these are contribution points. You can use them to get discounts at the Association."
"Oh, is this your first time at the Association, sir? Would you like me to explain how it works?"
The employee kindly offered a detailed explanation.
The Association was a supportive institution run by the Tower, serving to broker requests from both First Settlers and the Tower itself to climbers. In simpler terms, it was a mercenary guild. Completing these requests rewarded climbers with currency and contribution points. Just as Suyoung had said, these points could be redeemed for discounts at the Association or any affiliated shops in the city.
While the maximum discount varied by establishment, each contribution point generally translated to a 1% discount or a deduction of 10 credits.
The goblin ear collection task was essentially a welfare program and an incentive policy designed for climbers who had just reached the 10th floor. It served to teach them that hunting monsters and bringing back useful byproducts would earn them a steady income through the Association. However, the Association didn't accept just any monster part. They sold a thick guidebook detailing monster ecology and which parts could be sold for 1,000 credits.
Even if one didn't buy the book, copies were available in the library. Alternatively, climbers could bring in entire carcasses, and the Association would butcher and purchase them for a small processing fee.
I took a quick glance and decided to buy the guidebook. It looked fascinating, and I've always had a soft spot for this kind of lore. The receptionist mentioned that the book was quite popular since it focused primarily on the monsters inhabiting the 10th-floor range.
"How do I register?" I asked.
"Ah, any climber can register. Just place your hand on this crystal ball."
When I placed my hand on the crystal ball, it glowed faintly, and he informed me that my registration was complete. I wonder what kind of mechanism powers this thing.
"Registration complete. Would you like me to recommend any active requests?"
"No, thank you. I'd like to turn in some goblin ears as well."
I placed my backpack on the counter, containing twenty-eight ears in total, including the ones I had gone back to retrieve from the goblins I killed before meeting Suyoung. After verifying the ears, the employee handed back my bag along with 2,800 credits and 28 contribution points.
"By the way, can First Settlers not use this system?" I asked, tapping the crystal ball lightly.
The employee nodded. "Yes, unfortunately. First Settlers can only post requests; we cannot register as climbers. Personally, I think it's for the best. It would be heartbreaking if our hot-headed youngsters wandered outside the city walls only to get severely injured or killed."
"That's true."
Suyoung chimed in. "We can also register our party through the Association. Apparently, if we're registered, we won't get separated and can climb the Tower together."
Based on what I had read on the community boards, climbers often experienced different versions of the 10th-floor range, suggesting that even on the same 11th floor, people could be dropped into entirely different locations or even parallel worlds. It seemed forming a party wasn't just a verbal agreement to hunt together; the Tower's system actively ensured party members ascended to the same destination.
The employee added to Suyoung's explanation. "Indeed. I've also heard that when you hunt as a registered party, the Shop Points are distributed evenly among all members."
That made sense. When we killed goblins, the mana was naturally split and absorbed by both of us, but the Shop Points had only gone to whoever dealt the killing blow. Since Suyoung's slimes had relatively long cooldowns, I had ended up landing the majority of the final blows.
"What if we hunt together without a party?" I asked.
"I believe only the one who actually secures the kill receives the Shop Points. Though, as I'm not a climber myself, I can't say for certain."
Since we had already agreed to team up, we decided to bind our party. The process was simple: we just had to place our hands on the crystal ball simultaneously.
"Please note that disbanding a party requires a visit to the Association. If you wish to add a new member, the entire party must be present. However, if someone wants to leave, only the departing member needs to come. Keep in mind that an individual cannot unilaterally kick someone or disband the party."
A party would only be fully disbanded once every single member had officially left.
"Is there a member limit?"
"For the lower floors, the limit is six members. I'm not sure about the middle floors, though."
I nodded and checked the time. It was already slightly past noon.
"It's lunchtime. What do you want to do after we eat?