Tower - Escort (3)
"...Wow."
Even as he loosed his magic arrows, William couldn't help but stare at Le Thi Hoa's combat style in stunned silence.
I could guess exactly what he was thinking, but he seemed careful not to offend her. More than being afraid of her, it felt like he was walking on eggshells to avoid hurting her feelings. Historically, Britain had a reputation for hooligans masquerading as gentlemen, but a true British gentleman was clearly cut from a different cloth.
Perhaps Le Thi Hoa was well aware of how her combat style looked to others, as she let out a soft cough.
"Forced possession is only possible when the target's intelligence is significantly lower than mine. It's difficult to pull off on anything other than Goblins or wild beasts. And it's a method I only use from a distance. When the enemy gets close, I fight differently."
"No one is judging you, Miss Le Thi Hoa," William reassured her with a warm smile.
As the possessed Goblin, which had been sowing chaos among its own ranks, drew its final breath, the spirit Le Thi Hoa was controlling transferred to the last remaining Goblin it had touched.
Left as the sole survivor of the five, the final Goblin picked up the totem and proceeded to bash its own skull in with its stone axe. Having completed its task, the possessing spirit returned to the totem and floated back to Le Thi Hoa's side.
"Couldn't you just keep them possessed and use them as escorts?" I asked.
Le Thi Hoa shook her head.
"A simple vessel like a totem is fine, but possessing a living animal drains a massive amount of mental power."
Mental power, not mana. It seemed Necromancy utilized mental power as its primary cost rather than mana. That made me wonder if she would be helpless if there were no animals around to control, but since she had mentioned a different close-combat style, she likely had another trick up her sleeve.
While the others with ranged combat capabilities swept up the Goblins, I didn't contribute much to the battle. I had contemplated using magic, but since I had claimed my supernatural ability was swordsmanship, suddenly casting spells felt a bit awkward. By the time I hesitated, the battle was already over.
To be fair, the ambushing force consisted of barely twenty Goblins, so the skirmish couldn't have dragged on anyway.
"Well, it seems the fight was over before I could even step in."
"Not at all. Didn't you pinpoint their exact locations with your detection skills, Mr. Han Jiwoo?"
William offered a good-natured smile, saving me from any embarrassment. Of course, I was excluded from the distribution of the Goblins' mana stones.
The caravan pressed on. Over the next three to four hours, we were ambushed seven more times by Goblins, Gnolls, and Kobolds. The sheer frequency of the attacks was far beyond normal, and since the Harpies Lorolen had warned us about hadn't even shown their faces, everyone was beginning to look at the merchant with growing suspicion.
"Lorolen, are you hiding something from us?" William confronted him.
Lorolen laughed nervously. "Haha, hiding something? Of course not."
When we all turned our gaze to Le Thi Hoa, she narrowed her eyes, focusing her senses.
"He is deceiving us about something."
William and I slowly rested our hands on our sword hilts. We didn't take a stance to draw, but the pressure was enough to make Lorolen break into a cold sweat. His eyes darted around frantically before he swallowed hard.
"I-I cannot speak about the cargo."
Aha. So the cargo itself is the problem.
I casually climbed onto the carriage, sat down next to the sweating Lorolen, and slung an arm around his shoulder.
"You said you'd go bankrupt if this escort fails, right? Do you want to go bankrupt?"
My subtle threat threw him into a panic.
"But didn't you sign a contract with me?!"
"Contract? Do you have a written contract? You're the one who offered to pay us before we even asked. Do you think we're helping you just to earn that pocket change? We could easily make that kind of money in an hour without your help. Actually, what am I saying? We could make it in ten minutes."
While 11,000 credits was a significant sum, for a climber, it was merely the equivalent of hunting five or six Horned Rabbits and selling them to the Tower Shop. Credits were rare and valuable to the permanent residents, but climbers valued Shop Points far more and rarely exchanged them, making credits incredibly easy to obtain.
"For us, if this escort fails, we just have to rest for a day. It's a minor inconvenience."
If a climber failed a quest to ascend to the next floor, the Tower enforced a mandatory cooldown before they could retry—one day for the 10th floor, three days for the 20s, and a week for the 30s. The Tower forced this break to ensure climbers took the time to regroup and address their shortcomings.
"But for you, it's different, isn't it?"
"A-Are you threatening me?"
"Oh, come on. Threatening? What a terrible thing to say. I'm just stating the facts. I'll personally guarantee your safety. Even if it kills me, I'll make sure you safely return to the village we started from."
At my words, Lorolen's face drained of all color.
"We need to know what kind of danger we're facing so we can prepare. Don't you agree?"
How else were we supposed to know what potions to buy from the Tower Shop?
"A merchant shouldn't make too many enemies, right?"
The absolute non-violence laws between climbers and residents only applied within the common safe zones. Even without breaking any laws, there were countless legal ways to ruin him. Failing the quest didn't mean we would be instantly deported back to the 10th floor, after all.
Under the weight of my gentle coercion, Lorolen finally confessed the truth.
The cargo he was transporting was a batch of Monster Growth Elixirs—volatile potions designed to accelerate monster growth. The destination was a magic research lab under the York City Magic Tower that studied monsters. If the scent of the elixirs leaked, it would drive nearby monsters into a frenzy, potentially triggering a massive monster wave.
They were supposed to be perfectly sealed to prevent any scent from escaping, but a microscopic crack must have formed during transit, slowly drawing monsters to us.
The mercenary group Lorolen had originally hired had discovered this, which was why they had faked food poisoning to back out of the contract.
Having heard the truth, we glared at him with icy eyes.
"I believe we need a brief discussion. Shall we?"
At William's suggestion, the four of us huddled up, leaving Lorolen behind.
"What does everyone think?" William asked.
I remained silent at first. Since I was using an avatar, I didn't mind the risk, but the others only had one life. I couldn't afford to be selfish. Above all, if my party member, Lee Suyoung, chose to back out, I intended to follow her lead.
However, contrary to my expectations, Lee Suyoung spoke up with a serious expression.
"I don't think it's a bad idea to keep going."
"Miss Lee Suyoung, if the seal breaks completely during battle, we could be in extreme danger."
"But it's also an opportunity."
At the word 'opportunity,' Le Thi Hoa and my gazes naturally drifted toward the carriage.
"Are you planning to demand something in exchange for not abandoning the mission?" Le Thi Hoa asked.
Lee Suyoung nodded. "I noticed some decent-looking magic tools and potions in there."
She looked at me for agreement, and I nodded in return.
I had already sensed several magic tools with my Qi sensing. They were packed as cargo, but Lorolen's penalty for breach of contract only applied to the Monster Growth Elixirs, not the magic tools. While the Tower Shop sold recovery potions, it didn't sell permanent magic tools at these lower floors. According to the community boards, any magic tools sold in the shop later on were mostly disposable or highly consumable. Permanent magic tools had to be looted from monsters, found in ruins, or crafted from recipes.
Securing a permanent magic tool at a mere 14th floor was a massive opportunity. Even if it became obsolete past the 20th floor, the value of an item that could carry us smoothly through the next five floors was immense.
William and Le Thi Hoa fell silent, pondering Lee Suyoung's words.
"Miss Lee Suyoung is right. This is indeed a great opportunity."
"Of course, we'll have to inspect the magic tools to see if any suit us."
The three of them had clearly made up their minds. I decided to offer a word of caution.
"Greed is what ruins a person's life. Remember that greed can cost you your life."
William looked at me, surprised. "Are you against proceeding, Mr. Han Jiwoo?"
I smirked. "No. I just thought someone needed to play devil's advocate. Before making a final decision, someone has to give everyone a moment to think twice."
William smiled warmly, clearly pleased with my answer. "Well said. An opinion without opposition prevents us from self-reflection. I'm glad you're not backing out, though. Honestly, four of us is much more reassuring than three."
With that, William stepped forward and conjured three types of magic arrows.
"Since we are now a community bound by shared risk, let me explain my abilities in detail to ensure our safety."
Before we could even stop him, William launched into his explanation.
The glass-like transparent arrow was his basic attack, costing the least mana and having the shortest cooldown. The red arrow was a fire arrow, which ignited targets upon impact. Conversely, the white arrow was an ice arrow, capable of freezing whatever it struck.
"And I was fortunate enough to obtain a passive detection skill from an Ability Stone. To be precise, it is called Hostility Detection, which allows me to sense ill intent."
Since he had gone as far as sharing a skill obtained from an Ability Stone on top of his starting powers, it naturally set the stage for everyone else to share theirs.
Lee Suyoung went next. She didn't have much to hide, simply revealing that she possessed a yellow slime named Bitpung-i in addition to her blue slime, Mulpung-i.
Since I couldn't reveal my Multidimensional Avatar ability, I stated that I had trained in swordsmanship, footwork, and unarmed combat, and had learned basic magic at the 10th Floor Magic Tower Branch. I omitted Spirit Magic entirely, as it was only level 1 and useless in combat for now.
"Ah, but today is only my third day in the Tower, so please don't expect too much from my magic."
Hearing this, both William and Le Thi Hoa were shocked to learn that a Magic Tower branch existed on the 10th floor.
"Magic! As someone who manipulates magic arrows, I would have asked you to guide me there if we were in the same city. What a pity."
Even if we had been in the same city, I would have advised against it. It was always best to avoid crazy people.
"But do you not have any detection abilities like me?"
"No. After training in martial arts, my senses naturally sharpened. I can pinpoint their locations and numbers by listening to their breathing or subtle sounds, but I don't have a specific detection skill."
"Oh! The mysteries of martial arts!"
This guy is way too into orientalism. What era does he think this is, a century ago? Besides, I only learned martial arts after entering the Tower.
When it was Le Thi Hoa's turn, she demonstrated by controlling her totem.
"If the totem is near me, I can channel my mana through it to fire a beam-like attack. And instead of possessing others, I can channel the spirit into myself to temporarily buff my physical stats."
Compared to the shock of her possessing Goblins, her other abilities felt somewhat tame.
William stood up, dusting himself off.
"I'll handle the negotiation with the merchant. I'm quite confident in my negotiating skills. Though, thanks to Mr. Han Jiwoo's little scare earlier, I doubt I'll have to do much."
William offered us a knowing wink.