Tower - Chimera (1)
The enjoyable farming time had come to an end. Diana seemed reluctant to take anything from the vampire, finding it distasteful, but at our urging she eventually accepted one of the magic tools. The vampire, apparently a mage who had researched magic, had left behind thirteen ring-shaped magic tools. Diana, who had contributed the most to defeating the vampire, took five. Lee Suyoung and I each took four. Unfortunately, all of them were duplicates.
The most common was the Increase Blood Magic Tool. Fitting for a vampire who used blood as a weapon, there were six of them. These would be excellent for frontline fighters who bled frequently in battle. But Diana liked them for a different reason.
At Diana’s words, Lee Suyoung sent me a private message.
I explained the difference between RH+ and RH- through chat so she wouldn’t feel embarrassed. Simply put, blood types A, B, O, and AB could be positive or negative. Most people were positive, while negative was extremely rare. That meant if someone with negative blood got into an accident requiring surgery, they could be in serious danger due to lack of compatible blood.
After reading my explanation, Lee Suyoung nodded as if she had learned something new. She was still in high school, so it made sense she might not know. The other seven magic tools consisted of duplicates that fired flame bullets, ice bullets, and water sphere bullets—two or three of each type.
Diana took three Increase Blood tools, one flame bullet tool, and one water sphere tool. Lee Suyoung took one Increase Blood, one flame bullet, and two ice bullet tools. I kept two Increase Blood tools, one water sphere tool, and one ice bullet tool.
As for the vampire’s magic tomes and research materials, I took them all. Neither Diana nor Lee Suyoung had any interest in vampire magic, and their inventories were already full. Fortunately, none of the books or experimental tools weighed more than a kilogram, so I could send them to my main body waiting on the Tower 1st Floor.
Items successfully transferred to main body on Tower 1st Floor.
“Then you’ll be heading to the next floor as well, Diana?”
“Yes. It’s still daytime, and thanks to my divine power I’m not tired at all.”
“In that case, let’s meet on the 20th floor.”
“Sounds good. See you on the 20th floor.”
We said our goodbyes, touched the crystal, and headed for the 17th floor.
I felt a strange sense of connection with Diana, so parting was a bit… disappointing. So why was Diana here?
When we arrived on the 17th floor, Lee Suyoung, Diana, and I were all together. After going through that whole farewell, the situation felt incredibly awkward. And it wasn’t just the three of us. Ten climbers in total, including me, had arrived on the 17th floor. Not only Diana, but a familiar face was also present.
“Looks like we meet again. Miss Lee Suyoung, Mr. Han Jiwoo.”
Among the climbers was William, whom we had met on the 14th floor.
“Nice to see you again. Unfortunately, Miss Le Thi Hoa isn’t here.”
At my words, William smiled and replied, “I ran into Miss Le Thi Hoa on the 16th floor. We obtained quite a lot there, so we split up after selling everything on the 10th floor. It seems we’ve ended up on different paths this time.”
He added that it was a shame they couldn’t form a party since they were from different cities. It sounded like they had a similar experience to ours—after acquiring a large number of weapons from gladiators on the 15th floor, we had stopped by the 10th floor as well. Lee Suyoung and I had been able to climb together because we formed our party in the same 10th-floor city, but William and Le Thi Hoa hadn’t. The 10th floor gathered climbers by their place of origin, so William would have gone to the city where the British gathered, while Le Thi Hoa would have gone to the Vietnamese one.
“But it seems you’ve made a connection with a lady I haven’t seen before?”
“Ah, we ended up doing a quest together on the 16th floor. We got lucky and came to the 17th floor together as well. Diana, this is William. William, this is Diana.”
At my introduction, William and Diana greeted each other. William seemed pleased to meet someone from the same country and acted friendly, but Diana kept a slight distance. She appeared uncomfortable with people who were overly familiar right away. Though now that I thought about it, she hadn’t exactly been distant with me or Lee Suyoung. Maybe it was different when she was the one approaching first versus when someone else did.
While we were talking with William, a Western man approached him.
“Fancy seeing you here again.”
“Oh! Mr. Bogard! Well, it seems my luck is quite good today.”
William introduced the man to me and Lee Suyoung. He was a middle-aged Westerner who looked to be in his mid-to-late forties—about ten years older than William, who was in his early-to-mid thirties.
“This is Bogard. He’s American and a climber I met on the 13th floor.”
Bogard shook hands with me, Lee Suyoung, and Diana in turn. He seemed to be as extremely extroverted as William.
“Nice to meet you all. Name’s Bogard Deliwelton. My ability is one that a lot of people envy.”
Bogard transformed his arm into something furry like a beast’s.
“A werewolf?”
At my guess, Bogard laughed heartily.
I was at a loss for words. This guy looked like the type who would get drunk and cause a ruckus at a baseball stadium, yet he was a furry. And not just any furry—a dedicated one. The fact that he proudly revealed he had become a werewolf without even being asked made me suspect he probably wore a fursuit out in the real world too. Come to think of it, I recalled that fursuits often used bright blue or neon colors because in countries like America where guns were legal, you could get mistaken for a wild animal and shot. Since blue or neon fur didn’t exist in nature, wearing those colors would definitely reduce the chances of getting shot. In that sense, Bogard would need to be careful once he left the Tower. Actually, he might need to be careful even inside the Tower. There were monsters everywhere. If he got mistaken for one, he could end up hunted by other climbers.
“Not everyone here knows each other, it seems.”
Out of the ten climbers gathered here, some knew one another like us, while others stood around awkwardly or were meeting other climbers for the first time. Naturally, the center of the group became us—the ones who already knew each other. Or more precisely, it became William. Neither Diana nor I liked stepping forward, and Lee Suyoung felt she wasn’t skilled enough to take the lead. Bogard didn’t seem interested in forming groups at all. On the other hand, William enjoyed taking charge and had a strong sense of responsibility.
“Before we introduce ourselves, let’s check the quest for this floor first.”
Fulfill the Boatman’s Wish.
📍 Objective: Grant the wish of the one called the Boatman
Boatman? So this quest was about fulfilling someone’s wish. But where was this Boatman?
Until now, people had usually been praying right in front of the crystal, but this time there was no one who had made a wish. Then someone pointed toward the bushes.
“Isn’t that kid hiding in the bushes the Boatman?”
When everyone turned to look, a child who looked about twelve years old hesitantly emerged from the undergrowth.
Seeing the child, William stepped forward.
William crouched down, skillfully making eye contact with the child and waiting patiently for him to approach first. The boy was still nervous about the ten adults, but he slowly came closer and said,
The Boatman’s request was simple. A monster had taken over the only path connecting their village to the outside world. As a result, the village was running out of food and all other supplies. If things continued this way, everyone would either starve to death or die trying to force their way past the monster. So the wish he had made to the Tower was to have the monster dealt with.
“Do you know much about that monster?”
At William’s question, the Boatman hesitated before guiding us to the nearby village. The villagers looked both wary and hopeful as ten armed strangers suddenly approached. The village chief greeted us and asked,
“How did all of you come to our village?”
If we were skilled enough to get past the monster, that meant it had been defeated. Even if we hadn’t fought it, if there was a detour, the villagers could escape. Their expectations were only natural.
“The boy here, the Boatman, made a wish to the Tower, and that’s why we came.”
At William’s explanation, some villagers were surprised that the Tower’s legend was real, while others looked overjoyed. But William firmly cut off their cheers.
The villagers grew anxious at William’s words. He collected information about the monster from them. I wasn’t sure how accurate the information would be when gathered this way. From their perspective, if we didn’t defeat the monster they would slowly wither away, so they might hide certain details to make us attempt the fight. People could become quite malicious when their own lives were at stake. Still, William probably knew that much.
The real problem was that there were ten climbers. If the Tower had deliberately gathered ten people, it likely meant the difficulty required that many. A few who realized this were already considering backing out even though the information wasn’t fully gathered yet. Lee Suyoung seemed to sense it too. She whispered to me and Diana,
“It looks like this might fall apart before it even starts.”
“Everyone values their life, after all.”
I couldn’t blame them for giving up. No one could force another person to risk their life. Running away from a trial you couldn’t handle was also a form of courage. If you lacked strength, you could take time to build it. Recognizing your own shortcomings was the foundation for growth. Not knowing your limits only led to stagnation.
“But if they keep giving up without even trying, can they really keep climbing higher?”
Lee Suyoung had the opposite opinion. She was growth-oriented, proactive, and full of adventurous spirit. So she didn’t like people who tried to retreat without properly assessing the enemy.
“Not everyone has to climb higher. Realizing your limits and leaving the Tower is also a good choice.”
The Tower’s quests grew harder the higher you climbed, and the rewards were greater when you overcame them. But that only mattered if you actually succeeded. You couldn’t call someone useless just because they gave up climbing in the 10th-floor range. Returning to the outside world healthy and continuing their original work, or using the power gained from the 10th floor to do something helpful, was still contributing to society. On the other hand, struggling desperately to climb higher only to die would be a true social loss—and a source of grief for family and friends.
“Oppa, you’re okay with failing?”
“If I fail, I can just try again. Let’s take it easy.”
Ah, she was still a high school student. If she stayed in the Tower too long, her parents would probably worry.
Just then, William, who had finished gathering information, returned.
(To be continued in the next chapter)