Chapter 22: Decision (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 22: Decision (1)
The South Korea Special Climbing Agency. Abbreviated simply as the Climbing Agency.
Established just a few months after the Day of Cataclysm two years ago, this central administrative body oversaw every matter related to Climbers. Even now, it remained a frantic, chaotic mess, barely keeping its head above water.
This wasn't unique to South Korea; every other nation was in the same sinking boat.
Humanity still lacked sufficient information about the Tower, and simply keeping up with the rapidly shifting tides of the world was an exhausting, uphill struggle.
"So much work... so much to do... oh, I'm so happy, I'm so blessed..."
One employee muttered to himself, his eyes hollow and glazed as he tapped away at his keyboard.
Perhaps he had built a psychological defense mechanism to survive the extreme stress. Or perhaps he had simply lost his mind.
The workload was already a mountain, but with the clearing of the Nightmare 2nd Floor, the agency's tasks had multiplied overnight.
Furthermore, this situation was even more dire than when the 1st Floor was cleared. In addition to the influx of new Climbers, the Tower had announced a terrifying new rule.
Those who do not climb the Tower within three years will die.
Climbers who previously had no intention of risking their lives suddenly found a fire lit under their feet—especially those trapped in the Nightmare difficulty.
Naturally, it fell to the Climbing Agency to sort out the ensuing chaos. Registering new Climber information, categorizing them, organizing data, planning the expansion of training facilities, budgeting, and dealing with an endless flood of civil complaints... Why did the work keep increasing no matter how much they finished? Was it a bug in reality?
While it was a relief that humanity's lifespan had been extended by another year, the lifespans of the agency's employees were likely shortening in real-time. There wasn't a single department that wasn't drowning.
"I'm going to die, seriously. How is it that there isn't a single day out of the 365 days in a year that isn't busy?"
"Just blame your luck for being dragged here."
A few employees enjoyed a momentary respite in the hallway, sipping instant mix coffee.
While some had volunteered, they were the minority; most of the agency's civil servants had been semi-forcibly drafted from other departments. It was an unavoidable necessity of the era.
"I'm seriously considering quitting lately."
"Hang in there. It's a bit more bearable if you think of it as working out of a sense of duty."
"Haha, a sense of duty... Oh."
The employees quickly bowed their heads as someone passed through the hallway.
It was a woman with an expression so blunt it felt cold. She acknowledged them with a slight, professional nod and walked past.
Watching her retreating figure, one employee remarked, "...Speaking of a sense of duty, shouldn't you be at least at her level to say you're working out of genuine conviction?"
The Climbing Agency had one department composed entirely of Climbers: the Climbing Surveillance Department.
The woman who had just passed was Shin Su-jin, the head of that department.
Their work involved matters related to the 5th Floor Common Area and cooperation regarding Climber-related crimes. Due to its nature, it was an independent department that felt somewhat isolated within the agency.
Nevertheless, Department Head Shin Su-jin was a celebrity among the staff. Everyone knew her name. This was because she was a Level 20 Climber who had reached the 11th floor of the Normal Difficulty.
A high-level Climber who could live in luxury just by selling the mana stones found in the Tower was instead working a grueling job as a civil servant. It was difficult for an ordinary person to comprehend.
"If I ever became a Climber, I'd quit this job in a heartbeat. Isn't the probability of becoming a Climber much higher than winning the lottery anyway?"
"Hey, the difficulty matters, though. What if you get stuck with Nightmare?"
"Then... I'd just jump. Hehe."
"True. Easy is one thing, but even Normal is no joke these days. I heard the 1st Floor of Normal is a nightmare in its own right."
The employees chatted a bit longer before trudging back to their desks. Today was another night of mandatory overtime.
* * *
Over a month had passed since I cleared the 2nd Floor.
Lately, I had been focusing on a personal quest: "Bonding with Bandiul the Dark Spirit."
"Diul, what I'm trying to say is that we're best friends. Soulmates, you know? I'm not the only one who thinks so, right?"
I was in the forest outside the castle on the 2nd Floor.
Normally, completing a repeated clear would automatically transport me to the Reward Room, but if I didn't defeat the Minotaur and simply left the castle, the clear wouldn't proceed.
I continued trying to commune with Diul as I walked through the dark woods.
I had even given it a nickname. Assuming its surname was "Ban" and its name was "Diul," I just called it Diul.
The little guy usually seemed indifferent no matter what I said, so it didn't feel like I was making much progress.
"Fine, fine. Let's just take a walk. Want to run a bit?"
I headed into a denser part of the thicket.
The moonlight was blocked out, and the darkness of the night deepened. However, the surrounding landscape remained perfectly clear to my eyes.
This was Diul's basic ability: Night Vision, which allowed me to pierce through the darkness.
To describe it more accurately, it didn't look like green night vision goggles; rather, objects appeared as if sketched with white chalk on a black chalkboard. It was a unique, high-contrast perspective.
It wasn't exactly a grand ability, but at least darkness was no longer an obstacle for me.
I sprinted through the forest path, feeling the cool night wind against my skin. Diul floated near my head, bobbing along as it followed me.
Even this perpetually dry creature showed a hint of positive emotion at times—specifically, when it was in the dark. More accurately, it liked the darkness of nature. Perhaps because it was a spirit. It didn't seem to care much if I just turned off the lights in my room.
That was why I had been coming to the 2nd Floor for frequent night walks lately.
I was told that my affinity had to increase to use new abilities, but I had no idea how to make that happen. I figured if I just did things it liked, the affinity would eventually go up. I felt like the connection was slightly stronger than at first, but that might have just been my imagination.
For the record, Haylin no longer appeared on the 2nd Floor.
Unlike the old man in the 1st Floor Hidden Route, I hadn't killed her, so I wondered if there would be a difference, but there wasn't. Even when I went to the bridge where I had escaped the Black Knight, there was nothing but the collapsed ruins. I tried to see if I could climb down the cliff to cross over, but I gave up when the bottom never seemed to appear.
After running through the forest for a long time, I returned to my room. I lay on the bed and opened the communication window out of habit.
"Huh?"
A new whisper had arrived. The sender was Chicken Sandwich—Villon Must.
We had briefly exchanged messages after I cleared the 2nd Floor, and this was the first contact in a month.
[Chicken Sandwich: How have you been? I am contacting you because I have acquired new skill stones.]
[Chicken Sandwich: The skills are the Common-grade 'Swing' and the Common+ grade 'Lesser Poison Resistance.' Swing is an active skill that enhances the power of swinging attacks, and Lesser Poison Resistance is a passive skill that grants a slight resistance to poison.]
[Chicken Sandwich: If these are skills you do not already possess, I would like to deliver the skill stones to you as I did before. Of course, if you do not wish to meet in person, another method is fine.]
Oh... well now.
He was offering skill stones again. Two of them this time. Since we had already met once, there was no reason to refuse.
"I'll take them, but..."
I knew that while the Swing skill was relatively common, resistance-type passive skills were quite rare. I wondered if it was okay to keep accepting these things so readily.
Some people feel burdened by receiving things for free, and I was one of them. Of course, technically, this wasn't free. Villon Must was investing in me, and in return, I was climbing the Nightmare difficulty to extend the deadline for everyone.
Fine, I should take what I can get. Besides, I had already made up my mind.
I sent a reply.
* * *
We arranged to meet in the same manner as before.
On the day of the appointment, I once again wrapped my face tightly in a triple layer of a hood, hat, and mask before heading to the designated spot.
An ordinary black sedan was parked on the side of an alley. After confirming via the communication window, I approached and knocked on the window. I opened the back door and climbed inside.
It was only the second time seeing him, but the man sitting in the seat next to me still had an unrealistically perfect face. Villon Must.
"Hello."
"It is a pleasure. We meet again."
We exchanged a light handshake and got straight to the point without small talk. Villon took two skill stones out of a bag and handed them to me.
"Thank you."
I learned the skills on the spot.
[You have learned 'Skill: Swing (Common).']
[You have learned 'Skill: Lesser Poison Resistance (Common+).']
* * *
[Skill: Swing (Common)]
Momentarily amplifies the power of a swinging attack.
* Category: Physical-type
* Willpower Consumption: 10
* Cooldown: 10 seconds
[Skill: Lesser Poison Resistance (Common+)]
Grants a slight resistance to poison.
* Category: Physical-type (Passive)
* Willpower Consumption: None
* Cooldown: None
* * *
[Difficulty: Nightmare]
[Floor: 3rd Floor]
[Level: 30]
[Willpower: 600]
[Skills: Teleportation (Rare+), Sixth Sense (Rare+), Flame Strike (Rare) (+1), Exhilaration (Rare), Lesser Poison Resistance (Common+), Leap (Common), Swing (Common)]
* * *
The status window was starting to look quite substantial.
After I finished learning the skills, I met the eyes of Villon, who was staring at me intently.
Man, this is awkward.
Just as I was about to speak, Villon spoke first.
"I would like to continue delivering skill stones or items to you whenever I acquire them. What do you think?"
He wanted to maintain this strange connection.
I asked him, "Can I ask you one thing?"
"By all means."
"Why go this far? Do you really believe that I'll be able to keep climbing the Nightmare difficulty?"
Villon nodded without hesitation.
"I believe that you are the only one who can save humanity."
"But why..."
"You are the one who achieved the first clear of both the 1st and 2nd Floors of Nightmare. And you did it without any information. The Nightmare Clearer in the United States failed even with the full support of their nation, yet you succeeded. Looking at the facts alone, isn't the answer clear?"
Villon spoke with absolute conviction.
"That is why, Saram123, I wish to invest everything in you. I believe it is the choice with the highest probability of ensuring humanity's survival. You need only use me as you wish for the sake of clearing Nightmare."
I fell into thought. As the silence stretched on, Villon added softly, "Of course, your own will is what matters most."
"There's something I realized while clearing the 2nd Floor," I said.
"...Yes? What is it?"
"That it's impossible for anyone else to take the lead in clearing this insane difficulty."
In other words, my thoughts weren't much different from Villon's. I wasn't trying to be arrogant or think I was special. I didn't have a shred of confidence that I could keep clearing Nightmare.
But still, I was the person with the highest chance of pulling it off. No matter how much I wanted to ignore reality or pass the burden to someone else, that was the truth.
"To be honest, I'm not confident. I got lucky with the 1st and 2nd Floors, and I don't know how much further I can go. But in the end, it's something someone has to do, so..."
I nodded.
"Screw it, I'll do it. Fine. Invest everything you have in me, Villon."
Villon stared at me blankly for a moment before breaking into a bright smile and extending his hand. We shook hands once more, as if sealing a contract.