Chapter 43: The First Proposal (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 43: The First Proposal (1)
“Seohyun, while you’re up, grab a plate of assorted sushi too.”
“Okay.”
I hummed to myself as I picked out food.
It was a weekend buffet, and the place was packed. It had been a while since I’d come out for a meal with my family.
“Eat something other than crab, Seoa. You come to a buffet and only eat one thing?”
“Why? I’m only eating the most expensive thing here.”
My younger sister had been stubbornly piling up and devouring nothing but snow crab legs for a while now.
“Is it really that good? Honestly, I can’t tell the difference between that and imitation crab.”
“That’s because you have a cheap palate, Oppa.”
“Fine, eat up then, my sister with the 'refined' palate.”
Feeling full, I started picking at some dessert.
My father wiped his mouth and asked, “By the way, Seohyun, how’s work going lately?”
“...Work? It’s always the same. I just keep clearing the 1st floor repeatedly.”
“Right, always be careful. Come to think of it, I heard there’s some kind of health insurance benefit for Climbers starting this year. Have you looked into that?”
“Yeah, I’m checking on all of it.”
My sister chimed in. “Oppa, get me a new phone for my birthday this year. It’s about time I upgraded.”
“Be quiet and just keep eating your crab.”
In the past, they seemed worried about me entering the Tower, but lately, that wasn't the case. My parents were just being themselves, and clearing the 1st floor on Easy difficulty repeatedly wasn't exactly something to lose sleep over anyway.
Going in and out of the Tower, living a normal life in reality—my life was a steady routine. Hanging out with friends, going on trips, or coming out for a meal with my family like this; that was how I lived.
After all, isn't the reason we climb the Tower so we can live happily? This happiness wasn't guaranteed every year, so I had to enjoy it to the fullest while I could.
To think I had to risk my life every year just to survive—and not just my life, but the lives of all humanity. What used to be an unimaginable anomaly had now become my daily routine.
As my mind drifted into a relaxed state, the absurdity of it all suddenly hit me, and a small chuckle escaped my lips.
“Why are you laughing all of a sudden? Did you eat something wrong?”
“I was just watching you eat. It reminded me of a cow chewing its cud.”
Ignoring my sister’s glare, I sipped my drink.
There were six months left until I had to clear the 4th floor.
* * *
Many things had happened since the incident with the Fallen...
The early autumn of September arrived, still carrying the lingering summer heat. Even though I felt like I lived each day to the fullest, time flew by in the blink of an eye.
Before I knew it, only about two months remained on the Nightmare deadline. Since I had to challenge it when there were 20 days left, the actual entry was closer than two months away.
[Nightmare (21)]
The number of Nightmare Climbers fluctuated, increasing and then decreasing by one here and there, but now there were over twenty. The nationalities had become more diverse as well.
Still, the ones most actively climbing the Nightmare difficulty were the United States and China. Both had successfully cleared the 3rd floor this time and were hot on my heels.
- It is reported that discussions are underway within the Nobel Committee to nominate Saram123 for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
Surprisingly, news like that even reached my ears.
Wow, me? The Nobel Peace Prize?
It was so absurd it was funny, but I did think I deserved it. To say otherwise wouldn't even be modesty; it would be a lie.
But how did they plan to give it to me when they didn't even know who I was? I thought it would just end as talk, but...
- This year’s Nobel Peace Prize... has been awarded to our great hero who saved humanity: Saram123.
The Committee acknowledges that this decision deviates from traditional practice, as the recipient’s real name, nationality, and specific identity remain unconfirmed.
Nevertheless, his achievements in preventing the end of the world multiple times are known to all, undeniable, and beyond a shadow of a doubt. Thus, this decision was reached.
The Committee believes that his unprecedented sacrifice and devotion, unparalleled in all of human history, justify this extraordinary decision. As the UN General Assembly recently passed a unanimous resolution for a special recommendation for the Nobel Peace Prize, the nominator for this award is the entire world.
The medal and prize money for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize will be specially managed by the Nobel Foundation until the recipient appears in person. The ceremony will be held at the Oslo City Hall in Norway, watched by the entire world, with the UN Secretary-General acting as a proxy...
They actually gave it to me.
Wow! I won the Nobel Peace Prize! Not that I could brag to anyone... I just took it in stride.
[Chicken Sandwich: Well, it’s not like their motives are entirely pure. They’re anxious that Mr. Kim might change his mind at any moment. They want to bind you to a sense of responsibility as the 'Hero of Humanity' in any way they can.]
[Saram123: I see.]
[Chicken Sandwich: Are you disappointed?]
[Saram123: No. It’s only natural for them to be anxious.]
My climbing the Tower was, ultimately, for my own sake. If I didn't climb, both I and my family would die. Since I wasn't carrying some grand noble cause, I didn't care what people thought.
.
.
.
[Nightmare]
Participants: 184,388
Deadline: 25 days 23 hours 35 minutes 15 seconds
Floor Reached: 4th Floor
Could I succeed on the 4th floor? Would I be able to survive this time as well?
I was now used to the stray thoughts that increased as the deadline approached. I calmed my mind and focused on training. Though, 'training' mostly consisted of raising my skill proficiency.
Whoosh!
A red dot appeared in the air slightly above the ground, and a spherical zone formed around it. The undead that entered the zone were incinerated before collapsing.
[Skill: Scorching Zone (Rare+)]
Creates a Scorching Zone with a 5-meter radius within a 10-meter range. Targets within the range take continuous burn damage. Requires 50 seconds of Mental Focus to cast.
Category: Magic-Type
Willpower Consumption: 30 per second
Cooldown: 1 minute
A newly acquired Rare+ Magic-type skill. It was an AoE skill that dealt continuous damage within its range. Its power was decent, and the range was quite wide.
For the record, this wasn't a skill I got from Villon. It was what I obtained after enhancing Flame Strike, which was at +2, all the way to +5.
I hadn't known this, but if you enhance a skill to +5, the final enhancement doesn't just boost the skill's effect; instead, you randomly acquire a higher-tier skill of the same lineage.
One Skill Enhancement Stone was from my 3rd-floor reward, and two were thankfully provided by Villon. After dumping them all into Flame Strike, I ended up with this Scorching Zone skill.
To think such a hidden piece existed.
One question was why this fact hadn't been revealed until now. Even if Skill Enhancement Stones were rarer than Skill Stones, had no one ever enhanced even a Common-grade skill to +5?
Maybe... or maybe someone knew and was monopolizing the information.
[Saram123: If you enhance a skill to +5, you randomly acquire a similar skill of a higher tier.]
So, I just released the info on the Communication Window. No need for thanks.
Regardless, focusing solely on Flame Strike instead of spreading out the enhancements was the right move. Now, Flame Strike produced five fireballs, and since +5 was the maximum, I couldn't enhance it further.
More importantly, this Scorching Zone skill—it was finally my first continuous-type magic skill! As long as my Willpower didn't run out, I could maintain it indefinitely.
In other words, I could maintain it forever. Considering the theme of the 4th floor, I’d say I pulled something quite good.
[Skill: Skin Hardening (Rare)]
Hardens the skin to strengthen defense.
Category: Physical-Type
Willpower Consumption: 5 per second
Cooldown: 10 seconds
[Skill: Lesser Burn Resistance (Common+)]
Grants slight resistance to burns.
Category: Physical-Type (Passive)
Willpower Consumption: None
Cooldown: None
[Skill: Ice Bullet (Common)]
Fires cold energy to freeze the hit area. Requires 10 seconds of Mental Focus to cast.
Category: Magic-Type
Willpower Consumption: 50
Cooldown: 10 seconds
[Item: Ring of Lupa-Dupa]
A ring imbued with the will of the clumsy shaman Lupa-Dupa. Increases Willpower recovery speed by 10%.
Of course, there were things Villon had given me in the meantime.
First, Skin Hardening, which I’d wanted for a while. This was also a continuous skill that consumed Willpower per second, so it was extremely efficient for me. It was a bit of a shame I got it now, since defense probably wouldn't be that important on the 4th floor.
Next were Lesser Burn Resistance, a Common+ passive, and Ice Bullet, a Common skill... nothing special there.
Finally, I got an item—one that increased Willpower recovery speed. It wasn't particularly necessary for me, but it was better than nothing. It would make refilling my Willpower after stopping time a bit faster.
Three skills, two enhancement stones, and one item in total. Villon had really scoured for a lot over the past year.
[Difficulty: Nightmare]
[Floor: 4th Floor]
[Level: 45]
[Willpower: 1,250]
[Skills: Destruction Ray (Epic+), Teleportation (Rare+), Sixth Sense (Rare+), Rapid Regeneration (Rare+), Scorching Zone (Rare+), Flame Strike (Rare)(+5), Blade Gale (Rare), Exhilaration (Rare), Skin Hardening (Rare), Fairy Light Bullet (Common+)(+1), Lesser Poison Resistance (Common+), Lesser Burn Resistance (Common+), Leap (Common)(+1), Swing (Common), Stab (Common), Ice Bullet (Common)]
“Diul, you’re going to unlock your ability for me again if I’m in danger, right? Right?”
I looked up at Diul and asked. Diul reacted with his usual indifference.
I still hadn't been able to unlock Diul’s third ability, even though I’d taken him on night walks almost every single day for a year without fail. I felt a bit slighted.
Still, as I kept using the Stealth ability, its duration had increased to about 15 minutes. I believed he would unlock a new ability again when things got dangerous.
After finishing my repeated clears of the 3rd floor and dealing with the Undead boss, I summoned Phligas.
“Alright, sparring time.”
I moved my body urgently against the lunging Phligas. Besides practicing skills, I consistently warmed up without using skills against the max-enhanced 3rd-floor boss or Phligas. Physical intuition was important too.
After finishing my training, I left the Tower. When I went out of my room to get some water, my family was watching TV in the living room.
- Large crowds are expected to gather on Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on October 23rd. People are also taking to the streets in New York’s Times Square and St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican to pray for Saram123’s successful clear...
My sister watched the news and said, “Should we all go out too?”
My mother stopped her. “No. It’s dangerous with so many people gathered. Let’s just pray at home.”
True, who knows what kind of chaos would break out. Especially if I failed after all those people gathered.
My sister looked at me as I drank water. “Oppa, why are you going on another trip instead of just staying home?”
“Because I want to.”
“Fine, just make sure you pray properly while you're there.”
I’m praying for myself every day, I thought. Praying that I can survive that treacherous Tower.
Two days before the 20-day deadline, I was going on a trip again this year. I would have one last refresh to steady my mind before challenging the 4th floor.
- The government will begin procedures for non-climbing Climbers starting November 10th...
Another news segment played. It was about the Climbers who hadn't entered the Tower.
I had challenged the 1st floor with about 3 hours left on the deadline. So, the date they would die was exactly one year from then, plus those 3 hours. Not much of a difference.
The government paid large sums of consolation money to the unregistered Climbers. That money was also in exchange for their agreement to either enter the Tower themselves or undergo euthanasia and have their bodies incinerated without leaving a trace.
It was because no one knew if people who died beforehand would also turn into the Fallen. And even with all those measures, no one knew where a monster might pop out from.
It was unavoidable, I suppose. But then, what was the point of thinking about that now? I had to worry about my own clear.
“I’m heading out.”
A few days passed, and the day of my trip arrived. I hid my will—which I wrote every year like an annual event—in my room and left the house with my backpack.
* * *
October 22nd.
Another year had already passed, and only one day remained until the fateful day Saram123 would challenge the 4th floor. It was a time when people were starting to find it hard to focus on work.
Tomorrow would decide, once again, whether the world would end or not.
“...Huh?”
“Eh?”
People walking the streets suddenly stopped and looked into the air. They stared at the message before their eyes in confusion.
It wasn't just the Climbers; a message had appeared before the eyes of every person in the entire world.
* * *
Having traveled to Jeju Island, I spent the day having fun before returning to my hotel.
[Nightmare]
Participants: 183,161
Deadline: 21 hours 1 minute 29 seconds
Floor Reached: 4th Floor
Only one day left. Tomorrow, I planned to climb to the summit of Hallasan during the day. That would be the end of it. Then I’d return to the hotel and get ready to enter.
I was enjoying a relaxing break with a beer when it happened.
[The Tower makes a proposal to ‘Saram123’.]
I froze with the beer still at my lips. I slowly set the can down and stared at the message floating before me.
“...What?”
What was this?
[If ‘Saram123’ chooses one of the following penalties and enters the 4th floor, the rule ‘Climbers who do not enter the Tower within 3 years shall die’ will be nullified.]
[1. 50% reduction in physical abilities]
[2. 2x increase in skill cooldowns]
[3. Prohibition of three random skills]
[4. Prohibition of the highest-grade skill]
[5. Prohibition of item usage]
[The penalty will only persist during the initial clear of the 4th floor.]
[If ‘Saram123’ wishes to accept the proposal, select a penalty and enter.]