Chapter 188
Chapter 188
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: Tower of Trials
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Now, finally…”
Yoo Baek was one of the players recently hailed as a legend in the making.
“It’s manageable.”
Unlike players who had received all sorts of support from the Divine Sanctuary from the start, or those blessed with exceptional talents.
“Seems like it suits you perfectly.”
He had risen solely through effort, and now he stood as the leader of the Sanctuary Alliance, shoulder to shoulder with the Divine Sanctuary.
“You look more at ease yourself, brother.”
“Well, for guys like us, rolling around like dogs is the most familiar thing, isn’t it?”
Kim Cheon-seok, another pillar of the Sanctuary Alliance, was much the same.
Before joining the Sanctuary, he had been a player who drew little attention.
Barely keeping a small guild afloat in a provincial backwater town—that had been Kim Cheon-seok’s reputation.
Drip, drop.
But Yoo Baek already knew.
‘If it weren’t for his guildmates, he could have climbed high at any time.’
That he stayed in the provinces to look after his old comrades.
That he clung desperately to maintaining the guild just to help them in some way.
If only.
‘Given the chance.’
Kim Cheon-seok could reach quite high places.
Yoo Baek had sensed it from their few encounters: his sharp mind, his ruthless drive, his eye for reading the flow, and his seasoned experience.
That was why.
-Brother.
Even when Yoo Baek had already become the overlord of a region, he had called Kim Cheon-seok “brother” out of respect.
Kim Cheon-seok felt the same way.
‘Give him the right rope, and he’d climb anywhere.’
Yoo Baek had risen from the bottom to become the overlord of a region, provincial or not.
In Kim Cheon-seok’s eyes, who had seen all sorts of people, Yoo Baek had more than enough to climb even higher.
And.
‘I never imagined that rope would be this incredible.’
Meeting Go Yohan and becoming the leader of an organization on par with the Divine Sanctuary.
Was it because they had endured all those hardships together to reach this point?
The two shared a heated glance of camaraderie, then chuckled and nodded.
“No time to rest.”
He could feel it.
“Feel like taking a break?”
What the other was thinking.
What they had to do.
Smack.
“Of course not. We’ve got to put in even more effort to make up for what we lack, right? Those two from the Divine Sanctuary might already be way ahead.”
“I’d bet Goldian’s even faster.”
Back to back, they clenched their fists tight.
The place they stood now was the 15th floor.
They had poured every ounce of their strength to reach here.
‘It really is a special place.’
As they climbed the tower, Yoo Baek and Kim Cheon-seok couldn’t help but marvel.
A new era.
New players.
They understood what Go Yohan hoped for and envisioned through this tower climb.
Especially.
‘Proof of Qualification.’
This place was perfect for proving oneself.
On the first floor, they had truly come close to death.
It was so intense that they wondered if fighting demons would be easier—a nonstop barrage of brutal combat.
Considering the opponents were goblins, someone might laugh at them.
“Kahat. Isn’t it fun?”
“Why the sudden outburst?”
“It’s the picture he’s painting. From now on…”
Kim Cheon-seok laughed heartily before speaking.
“If you want power, you have to do this crap. Think about all those lucky bastards who became players and puffed up their chests—now tumbling down from this tower.”
“Yeah, you’ve got a point.”
Back to back, they laughed.
“By the way, have you completely ditched the dialect?”
“Huh?”
“That weird mishmash dialect of yours.”
Yoo Baek had noticed that Kim Cheon-seok’s dialect—which sounded like it came from no particular region, all jumbled together—was fading over time.
“Well, no need for it anymore, right?”
“Fair enough.”
“Seoul folks or educated types—they just click their tongues at sloppy dialects.”
It was Kim Cheon-seok’s way of lulling opponents into complacency.
“…”
“Not surprised? You knew?”
“Of course.”
Yoo Baek chuckled in response.
At the same time.
‘People think I’m the calculating one, but who’s really the calculator here.’
He admired Kim Cheon-seok.
Truly.
“Glad to have a comrade I can trust my back to.”
“Glad to have you to trust mine to.”
Camaraderie, brotherhood in arms.
As that bond welled up between them.
“Hiss.”
Dozens of orcs were approaching the two.
“Let’s go all the way to the 50th floor without stopping.”
“Let’s do it, brother.”
*
*
*
“This space defies reason!”
“Incredible… That’s all I can say.”
Goldian, Richard, and Samuel were in a wretched state, yet they couldn’t stop marveling.
Who could imagine, seeing them draped in crudely stitched monster hides, armed with monster bones and weapons?
That these were the heads of Goldian, capable of shaking the world economy.
“Every time we clear a floor, all injuries heal, and even stamina recovers. Can you call this a mere ‘ability’?”
Samuel said.
“No. This is a miracle, Master.”
Richard replied.
The tower restored all injuries and stamina with every floor cleared, like being reborn.
It resembled the recovery from level-ups as players, but on a whole different level.
Player level-ups healed some injuries and restored some stamina, but only partially.
“Next floor.”
“Yes, Master.”
Whoosh!
What was happening to them now was a true return to form.
No.
‘Evolution.’
Shedding their shells entirely and recovering fully.
Crunch!
They felt themselves growing stronger with each floor.
Having crossed another floor, they shivered at the power and mana surging through their bodies.
It felt similar to a level-up.
But.
“If we were players, how many levels do you think we just gained?”
It was different.
At Samuel’s question, Richard carefully assessed himself with serious eyes.
Unlike his player days, Richard wielded far freer and greater abilities within the magic tower’s magic.
“Feels like at least 10 levels at once, Master.”
“As expected.”
Samuel nodded in agreement.
“Not mindless monster hunting, but granting power for clearing floors.”
Was such a thing possible?
“All the exploits will vanish.”
The player system had long been abused by many.
Especially the wealthy or guild heirs—they would know.
The infamous.
‘I heard they call it “bus” in Korea.’
Bus.
High-rank players raiding gates with newly awakened ones, handing them rewards and monsters.
The problems? Those who never faced gate brutality end up as high-rank players, dragging parties or raid teams into hell.
And more.
‘At first, some praised the player system as a gift from the gods.’
Samuel thought differently.
“If the player system was made by gods, then those gods are more pathetic than I imagined.”
“You’ve said that before.”
“Indeed.”
A system full of loopholes.
“Of course, the current method he created looks full of loopholes to me too.”
The system of Babel, the other tower in the magic tower, seemed ripe for exploitation as well.
“But doesn’t he already know that?”
“And that’s not all.”
Samuel said.
“The most important thing isn’t that.”
“What is it then?”
“You know it too. No need to pass credit to me, Richard. Our bond isn’t that shallow.”
Richard smiled wryly at Samuel’s words.
“The most important thing is.”
“That the administrator is watching all this and has the power to change it.”
And they had witnessed that firsthand.
Samuel and Richard had once tried to bypass monsters and cross floors.
Not to defy Go Yohan’s intent, but mostly to test what it was.
And.
‘It worked.’
They succeeded in avoiding the monster routes and entering the next floor.
Despite severe injuries and nearly losing an arm, they crossed without killing a single monster.
The problem came after.
‘No recovery.’
‘No growth felt.’
They didn’t receive the sensation from clearing the floor.
‘As expected, it went against his intent.’
As knights bearing that name, they had considered it.
He wanted them to confront monsters and vanquish evil, not flee from them.
That was when it happened.
Flash.
Sudden light brought healing to their wounds and growth.
-While avoiding monster routes deviates from intent, such play is deemed meaningful.
The message appeared before Samuel and Richard.
-Stepping back to save the wounded or ensure people’s safety is also a knight’s qualification. Given Babel’s ever-changing circumstances, finding safe routes is nearly impossible. Those who achieve it deserve appropriate reward.
That healing and growth.
The thrill was indescribable.
Like being acknowledged, confirming their actions weren’t meaningless.
Along with confirmation of free will in any method, and clear reasoning.
‘Ah.’
They were in awe.
And another message appeared.
-However, such play will only reward those who map routes and contribute. Those who cross floors without cost will receive no reward.
That word surfaced.
‘Balancing.’
The thrill surged again.
“If past players were like an abandoned game, now it’s different.”
“Indeed. Now it’s.”
Richard continued.
“Like real-time patches, with protection and attention felt.”
If they were gamers, they’d be dancing for joy.