That's Not Real Help
What if Yujin ignored everything else and focused solely on climbing the Tower?
He could easily clear two or three floors a day. At the very least, he could hold that pace up through the fiftieth floor. In other words, he could punch through half the Tower in ten days.
Unfortunately, that was no longer an option. Unlike the first timeline, he wasn't alone this time.
Three slaves he'd branded the 3 No.
Moving with them was no different from chaining a massive iron ball to his ankle.
Just to the twenty-third floor. Only as far as the twenty-third.
Yujin looked down at the 3 No sprawled across the ground.
Once we get there, we can at least fix the level problem.
Cowbang. Its proper name was the Abyss.
An endless hell. Its sole purpose was one thing: endure. If you rolled around like a maniac among the monsters pouring out of that place, you'd eventually reach the level you wanted. The problem, of course, was that "endless" wasn't a metaphor. It was literal.
Baekbaek's around, so we'll manage somehow.
An absurd amount of money would probably drain out of him. So first he needed a proper budget and spending plan, and then—
"Hm?"
That was when he felt something approaching.
"Doesn't feel like a monster."
There were three of them, and one carried a considerable amount of mana. Nowhere near Yujin or the 3 No, but impressive enough to catch his attention.
"Ah."
As the distance closed a little more, Yujin nodded. He recognized the presence. The ones who'd reached the twenty-first floor ahead of him.
"It's Chiyou."
Chiyou. Kang Mu-hyun.
That epithet hadn't stuck to him yet, but even to Yujin's eye the man had outstanding talent. That was why Yujin had given him Dawn [C], along with various opportunities and pieces of information.
"But what's he doing out here?"
Surely he hadn't come to hunt a Glacier Dragon. Kang Mu-hyun was skilled, yes, but he wasn't ready for a snow-mountain hunt—especially not while shouldering two heavy burdens who happened to call themselves his companions.
Yujin sat still and waited for him to arrive, stroking Chunbae's head the whole time.
"Huh?"
After about ten minutes, Kang Mu-hyun and his party came into view.
"You really were here."
He started to greet Yujin with a bright expression, then flinched. Only then did he notice the collapsed 3 No and the monster corpses carpeting the ground around them. More than a thousand carcasses—more than enough to hit them like a physical blow.
"Didn't expect to run into you here. Looking for me?"
Whether they were shocked or not, Yujin asked Kang Mu-hyun the question. Judging by the man's first words, he'd clearly come looking for him.
"Ah—yes. That's right."
He answered with a face full of awe and alarm.
"But your companions…"
"They're fine. Just wiped out and passed out for a bit."
Yujin pointed at the monster corpses as he spoke, and the astonishment on Kang Mu-hyun's face only deepened.
"Incredible. Only four of you handled this many?"
"No? Leave me out of it. Those three did it."
"What? Really?"
One of the burdens let her mouth fall open.
"They did all this…"
Kang Mu-hyun was the same. Having already gauged something of Yujin's strength, he had naturally assumed this slaughter was only possible because Yujin had been here. But that wasn't the case. The way he looked at the 3 No shifted in an instant.
"It's not that big a deal."
Yujin glanced over the unconscious 3 No as if it were nothing, then asked,
"So why were you looking for me?"
"Ah, well…"
Kang Mu-hyun hesitated a moment, then carefully opened his mouth.
"Would you be able to tell us roughly when you plan to ascend to the twenty-second floor?"
"The twenty-second floor?"
Yujin studied Kang Mu-hyun's face. It was a mess of complicated feelings, but the clearest among them seemed to be guilt and shame.
Couldn't clear the boss, huh?
The boss monster guarding the staircase on the twenty-first floor was the Ice Moon Dragon. A lesser dragon, something like a budget version of the Glacier Dragon, its body forged from ice that held the light of the moon. Mystical and beautiful—and so dense and hard that an ice golem couldn't even compare.
Yeah…
With Kang Mu-hyun's current strength, landing a lethal blow on that thing would be difficult.
Originally it takes twenty or thirty players working together just to scrape out a win.
Thanks to his connection with Yujin, Kang Mu-hyun had reached the twenty-first floor far faster than in the first timeline—which meant the Ice Moon Dragon was inevitably too much for him.
"Why? Planning to go up with me?"
Yujin cut straight to it. Shame flooded even thicker across Kang Mu-hyun's face.
"Y-yes. With my companions' and my own strength, I simply can't see any way through…"
It was something Yujin had noticed before—Kang Mu-hyun was genuinely honest. Inside and outside were the same. He didn't hide his shortcomings; he put them on display without flinching.
Not many people like that.
Yujin liked the man's talent, but he found that personality pretty decent too.
That was one thing. This was another.
"No."
He refused.
"Ah…"
Kang Mu-hyun exhaled a quiet sigh.
"I'm sorry. It was shameless of me to ask something like that."
Instead of demanding a reason, he bowed his head and apologized.
"Shameless, nothing. If you're struggling, you can ask for help."
If Lee Sia had heard him say that, she would have laughed herself into a coughing fit. Yujin tossed the words out without a care.
"Then why won't you help us?"
One of the burdens—the woman who seemed to have a bit more backbone—asked boldly. Yujin ignored her and kept looking straight at Kang Mu-hyun.
"Honestly, if I wanted to drag you along, I could do it anytime. Something like the Ice Moon Dragon? Our kid alone could handle it no problem."
He had refused for a different reason.
"But then what?"
"…Pardon?"
"Say I help you up to the twenty-second floor. Can you climb from there on your own strength?"
"The Ice Moon Dragon just has a bad matchup against us, that's all. Any other boss, we could take down just fine."
"Is that so? And you already know what's waiting on the twenty-second floor?"
"Th-that's…"
"What if something even denser shows up there? You going to cry matchup again and ask for help?"
No one said a word.
"Helping is easy. But is that actually help?"
Once someone leans on another person, the next time they reach out a little more easily. Let that happen a few times, and eventually there would be nothing left they could do with their own hands.
"Force your own way through. With the kind of strength that whines on the twenty-first floor, you'll never make it to the upper floors."
Kang Mu-hyun. The man who, with nothing but a single E-grade spear, had soloed the thirtieth-floor boss—the Infinite Dragon. Someone like that would never stay stuck on the twenty-first. He would find a way somehow. Level up, hunt for skills or traits, or seize some kind of enlightenment. With the talent of the man who would one day be called Chiyou, he could break through on his own.
Yujin had no intention of crushing that possibility himself.
"I understand."
After a moment's thought, Kang Mu-hyun slowly nodded.
"I made a mistake."
"As long as you know."
Yujin rose as if he understood and clapped him lightly on the shoulder.
"I've given you a few things, sure. Don't get used to it. In the end, the thing you need most to climb the Tower is your own power."
"Thank you for the advice."
Kang Mu-hyun pressed his lips together. Only now did he grasp just how pathetic the words he'd come all this way to say had been.
"My companions and I will find our own way to the twenty-second floor. I don't know how much longer it will take, but that seems to be the right thing to do."
"Good thinking. No matter how dense something is, if you keep stabbing it, it eventually breaks. Give it a proper shot."
"Thank you."
Kang Mu-hyun bowed his head in greeting.
"Heading back now?"
"Ah—yes. For now I think we should return to Frost Veil and work out a plan. We'll need to raise our levels and train as well."
"Good. Don't rush it. Take it step by step."
Yujin nodded, then looked at the still-collapsed 3 No.
"Then while you're at it, haul those three for me. I figured they'd be up any second, but look at them. Completely spent."
"You intend to return to Frost Veil as well?"
"Yeah. These guys overdid it. We'll recover in the village for a bit, then head up to the twenty-second floor."
"Understood. We'll assist with your companions."
Yujin dumped the 3 No's limp bodies on Kang Mu-hyun and his burdens and started walking toward Frost Veil.
"Ah, that feels good."
Whether it was the Ice Crystal [B] sitting in Chunbae's belly or the vast plain stretching all the way to the horizon, something about it left his chest feeling wide open.
Jeremiah Croft.
Beatrice Nacht.
Malik Zero.
Taishi Hatsukawa.
Looking over the four players he had personally prepared, Didascalia wore a twisted smile.
"Have you all introduced yourselves?"
No one answered. The four simply sat quietly in their chairs, watching one another.
Kinship. Instinctively, they already understood. These people were the same species as themselves. Sadistic. Violent. Creatures who delighted in blood and screams. Killers, every one of them.
Didascalia settled among them with a blissful expression, as if he could smell a thick scent of blood for no reason at all.
Flap-flap!
"Well, you don't really need introductions. I didn't call you here so you could become friends."
The killers' gazes turned toward Didascalia. No matter how vicious their natures, they couldn't bare that essence in front of an Administrator. Do that, and they judged they might die a truly pathetic death.
"Anyway, the reason I gathered you here is to put you to work on a single task."
"Who do we kill?"
Malik Zero. An African-American man, two meters of pure muscle.
"No need to rush."
"No—I want this finished fast so I can go back. I've got a few jobs on hold because of you."
Didascalia snorted at Malik's words.
"You seem to be under a misunderstanding, Player Malik. With your current strength, you wouldn't even touch a single hair on the target's head."
All four of them were strong. They had long since surpassed ordinary players. But the one they had to kill was Seong Yujin—an irregular with enough power to murder even an Administrator. Against someone like that, they were far too weak.
"From this moment on, exactly one month. In that time I intend to force you all to grow. It won't be easy, of course. It will hurt a great deal, and there's a chance your minds might slip a little. Though you lot already have a few screws loose as it is."
Didascalia casually insulted them, then grinned.
"But if you last the month, you'll receive a reward to match."
"A reward? What kind?"
Jeremiah asked with elegant poise. Didascalia answered without hesitation, as if he'd been waiting for the question.
"Power. Power that will be of enormous help when you enjoy your little hobbies. Will that do?"
All four of them smiled. Eerie smiles, just like Didascalia's.