Applying for Pyramid Excavation (1)
The Gate incident had been mostly resolved, so I headed out to the basement after a long time away from home.
But the moment I stepped outside the gate, the Sentinel 22 that had been quiet for a while suddenly started spamming messages.
[Warning: Multiple individuals suspected of tailing detected. 30m rear, 45m rear, 50m rear…….]
Damn it.
It was the daytime newspaper reporters and YouTubers who had been circling me for days, and even the conspiracy theory club members who had turned into my stalker fans.
Things were getting awkward.
Reclaiming the redevelopment area or the Waypoint under the lake near EmpireMedifarm was out of the question in this mess.
So I took a taxi to the Tower. I planned to enter the basement through one of the Waypoints encircling the Tower.
But the tailers also mobilized cars to chase the taxi I was in.
When I got out near the Tower, there were already cult members waiting and on the phone.
I didn’t care. I grabbed a Waypoint and dropped straight down to the basement.
To them, it only looked like I had taken a Waypoint. They had no way to know where I went, so there was no reason to expose the existence of the lower floors.
I immediately headed to the Basement 4 Waypoint I had scouted and recorded after clearing the Period Mantis.
Near the 4th floor Waypoint, Jang Sara’s research lab on a massive tree was almost finished. The construction workers were the four bee species led by Ganeungi.
“This isn’t really a lab, is it more like a beehive?”
“In this dangerous jungle, nothing practical beats a beehive. You can build it up in a tree, so it’s safe from ground predators. Propolis blocks all pathogens. Most flying beasts will just fly away when they see it. The only worry is attacks from the bee-eater… but I handled that part.”
“How?”
“Look up there.”
I leaned out from the lab and saw a massive nest. A female bee-eater was feeding larvae to her cute chicks.
“The 12-byte guys moved the nest here? How did you lure them?”
“Simple. In exchange for protecting the lab, I contracted with the queen bee’s drone wing.”
In the bee world, drones are basically useless. So beekeepers cut off and discarded the drone wings the moment they appeared.
It looked like Jang Sara had made a deal to regularly feed the 12-byte family with the useless drone larvae in return for protection from the other bee-eaters.
Anyway, the woman is brilliant.
I left the lab and headed to the lowest part of Basement 4. To dig down to Basement 5, I had to start from the lowest elevation. Unlike other floors, the terrain here dropped dramatically.
But as expected, the low areas were mostly huge lakes, mud, and swamps, with giant crocodiles like the ancient Stomatoscutus stretching for dozens of meters gathering in groups.
I picked the driest-looking spot I could find and started digging.
Luck of Shoveling
Luck of Shoveling
◈ 485,572 Gold
Luck of Shoveling
I had already killed the Ultra Fly and Period Mantis, and my level was sitting at 26.
The Fibonacci number for level 26 was a massive 121,393.
So every single meter I dug in Basement 4 was now bringing in over 6 billion won.
But at this point, 6 billion wasn’t even noticeable anymore. Since a floor lower would bring even bigger money, my only real desire was to head straight to Basement 5.
But… it was never going to be easy.
In this muddy terrain, even a small patch of drier ground would quickly fill with water and turn to mud.
This was going to require underwater drilling almost.
I spent five spots on it, then gave up completely.
To reach Basement 5, I was going to need some kind of revolutionary idea.
* * *
I exited the Tower through the outer Waypoint. Since I had shown how I entered, I had to show how I left, or the rumors would spread.
Unfortunately, that only made it worse.
Reporters, YouTubers, and conspiracy club members immediately swarmed me with questions.
“Where exactly did you go?”
“Now tell us the truth. You didn’t go to the Tower, right? You went to another world?”
“Guardian Lord! Please don’t abandon us!”
“Ugh… Please let us board the Ark before the world ends!”
I was perfectly surrounded by crazy people and had no easy way out.
Of course, using my strength would have solved it in seconds, but I couldn’t do that in front of civilians.
“Whoa! I was just working as a Tower Scavenger on the first floor. Step aside!”
“Don’t lie!”
“Our members checked every single Waypoint on the first floor the moment you took one, but you weren’t there at all!”
“If you really were on the first floor, show us a timeline of what you dug and where you moved!”
I was pretty annoyed.
I didn’t think they’d be this persistent.
“I… used Hide on the first floor while working. That’s why you couldn’t see me. Anyway, I’m heading out now.”
I pushed through the crowd and took a taxi.
When I looked back, they had already boarded several other cars and were chasing the taxi.
Shit. I’m done.
What do I do?
I thought about it at home. There still didn’t seem to be any escape route.
It would be nice if I could set a Waypoint inside my house.
The Waypoint on the roof for Basement 3 had been destroyed by the Mana Core attack, but I still held the right to designate the Basement 4 Waypoint. I had become the master of Basement 4 after defeating the Period Mantis.
But I couldn’t set a Waypoint in my actual house.
The basement and my room were way too small.
The rooftop was directly visible from the neighboring apartment’s balcony and would get me noticed immediately.
Hmm. So then…
I could rent a warehouse, set a Waypoint there, and commute from there?
But that was even more dangerous. Those cultists would certainly find a way to break into the warehouse.
The best solution would be to go independent and buy a real house officially.
But would my conservative parents actually agree?
When I brought it up, they shot it down.
“No! Absolutely not! Dad already told you. Goldpa, Eunpa, and Dongpa can leave this house only under four conditions!”
“What were they?”
“Military marriage! Raise a family!”
“Military!”
“Army!”
“College!”
“Graduation!”
“Marriage!”
“Birth!”
“Death!”
Hmm.
Military was already behind me, so it was out.
Marriage and death were obviously out.
So the only way to become independent was to finish “Graduation.”
But even that was impossible right now.
I had already ruined my credits so badly before the military that I’d have to waste almost four more years of university just to graduate.
Damn it.
Since this was the situation, I decided to relax at home and take a break.
Once a few days passed, the world’s attention would fade like nothing had happened.
I played some new games I hadn’t touched in a while, watched some backlog movies and dramas, and even bought legal Toto and horse racing.
I rented a VR machine and stayed up all night playing with Dongpa.
I set my poison resistance to zero with Gaeggul and drank a bottle of Royal Salute 38 vintage all night with my dad.
But then I realized something.
Shit.
Nothing excited me anymore except digging down into the Tower.
I wanted to go back to the Tower.
The Tower…
The Tower!
The Tower!
* * *
Brrrring—
I was lying on the sofa staring at the TV when a call came in from an unknown number. I didn’t usually answer unknown calls, but the days had been so boring lately that I picked up.
“Hello?”
- Ah! Hwang Geumpa, student of the XX class?
“That’s me.”
- I’m Professor Seok Dong-mi from the Excavation Archaeology Department…
“Ah, Professor! Hello!”
I knew the class “Tower Archaeology” well because I took it before the military. A rare female professor in an archaeology field dominated by men. She had a great personality, was warm and approachable, and had a handsome face. The male and female students all liked her equally.
- How was the military?
“It was fine, yeah.”
- But Hwang Geumpa, you’ve gotten really famous lately.
“Ah, that, that’s all a misunderstanding.”
- Haha. Really? Anyway, the reason I called is… Geumpa, have you heard of ‘Tower Pyramid’?
I had heard rumors of it.
The pyramid that appeared inside the Tower. When you entered the first floor, a trial began, and every time a hunter cleared it, the next floor opened. The structure kept going up to the fourth floor and so on.
The number of floors was around three to five, and if you cleared the highest one, you could get a Legendary-rank item one step above Unique.
“Yeah, I’ve heard a bit.”
- Yeah, you would have. If you hadn’t been dozing off in my class, you wouldn’t have missed it. But this pyramid appeared on the first floor of the Gwanghwamun Tower. So the entire Tower Archaeology field is in chaos right now.
“Don’t pyramids pop up once or twice a year?”
- Exactly. This is the third one this year.
“But is there anything special about it?”
- Whoa, do you know how many grids this first floor is?
Normally a pyramid’s first floor was 3x3, 4x4, or 5x5.
I heard the largest one found in Korea was 6x6, about six floors.
“No way it’s 7x7?”
At that moment Seok Dong-mi said,
- Don’t be surprised. This pyramid’s first floor is confirmed as 10x10. This size has only been found twice before—in America and Czechia. It’s the third in the world. If we clear it, it becomes the first pyramid in history!
10x10.
One hundred grids.
A ten-floor pyramid.
“Haha, congratulations. But… why are you telling me?”
- Actually, Geumpa, have you heard of ‘Tower Credit System’?
“No.”
- It’s a system where awakening university students use their major in the Tower and do regular activities. The activities get counted as credits and allow early graduation.
“Really? There was something like that?”
- The government pushed the Ministry of Education because there weren’t enough top-tier people for the Tower. It’s a way to get awakened hunters into the field as fast as possible.
I couldn’t help it. The words just poured out.
“That’s actually a really good system!”
- And this time, because this 100-grid pyramid requires an unprecedented amount of excavation labor, the government decided to go big. They’re recruiting for a nationwide ‘Tower Pyramid Excavation Practice’ class that every related department and academy will take. Students who finish immediately get enough remaining credits to graduate.
Whoa!
Graduation right away?
Right when the excavation is finished?
That meant if I just finished this, I could finally do the independent life I’d always dreamed of!
- And all the artifacts you acquire during this excavation will be distributed to the students based on performance… so you can earn money too.
“No way, do they even give out Legendary items from the top floor?”
- Of course. As long as you contributed.
“Wow, this is really an amazing opportunity!”
- That’s why I’m calling every awakened student in our department right now. If you’re interested, apply. I’ll push you as hard as I can.
“I understand, Professor. I’ll hang up and apply right now! Right now!”
- Haha, great! See you at the interview tomorrow!