The Price of a Mount
Inside the Tower, mounts carried serious weight.
Every floor was vast beyond measure. Especially in the early levels, without any convenient movement skills, getting around without a mount could eat an entire lifetime. If you wanted to save even that time, you had to get one—no exceptions.
Well, that isn’t the only reason.
Either way, if you wanted the fastest, surest way to grab a mount on the first floor, this was the place.
Scratching his head, Seong Yujin sheathed Black Wing [A] and fixed his gaze on Taylon.
King of Trash.
The man was easily over level 100. One of the bastards who ruled Terra alongside Cupiditas.
Not yet. Not now.
He quietly measured the gap between them. Even if he burned every skill he had, he still couldn’t take this one.
“Ballsy, just like they said.”
Taylon caught the look and let out a dry laugh, eyes gleaming with amusement at the sheer nerve.
“You’re one to talk.”
The other side had been testing him too. With a single gesture, Taylon had flung that lump of flesh aside while a razor-thin thread of mana brushed over Yujin’s body.
“And sharp senses.”
Caught red-handed, Taylon didn’t even flinch. If anything, curiosity and interest only burned hotter.
“I just got word you crawled out of that goddamn pervert’s den. So what brings you here? Judging by the time, you came straight to me.”
King of Trash, all right. His information network was absurd. On the first floor alone, he might even outclass the Information Guild.
“I want a horse. Preferably one with power and speed.”
“A horse?”
Surprise flickered across Taylon’s face. Horses were part of his business, sure, but even among NPCs only a handful knew that. A player—especially a newbie summoned today—had no business knowing.
Yet Yujin’s demand landed as casually as breathing, and Taylon found himself momentarily speechless.
“Who told you… No. Forget it. Anyone who can rip that out of Cupiditas has to have the skill to match.”
His gaze lingered meaningfully on the little bear doll dangling from Yujin’s arm—Chunbae—before he gave a slow nod.
Actually I just remember it from the first timeline.
But the misunderstanding worked in his favor, so Yujin kept quiet and waited.
“Horses? I’ve got plenty. Pay a fair price and I’ll hand one over.”
Surprisingly casual. Money for a horse. That was exactly why this was the fastest, easiest place to get a mount.
“How much?”
“Three Coins.”
“You thieving bastard.”
In the first timeline it had been one Coin. Even then, few players bought horses here. Coins were rare—on the lower floors you were lucky just to see one. And now three? Triple the original price?
“…What did you just say?”
Taylon’s brow furrowed as he dug a finger into his ear, certain he’d misheard.
He hadn’t.
Yujin looked him dead in the eye and repeated it, crystal clear.
“I said you’re a thieving bastard.”
Jacking the price because he thought some clueless newbie wouldn’t know better? “Thieving bastard” was the only fitting title.
“Keh-heh.”
A laugh like scraping metal tore from Taylon’s throat.
“It’s been a long time. Long time since anyone in this trash heap spat that kind of shit to my face.”
Estimated level: over 100. On the first floor he was practically a god. Early players couldn’t even meet his eyes. And yet some punk who’d only finished the Tutorial yesterday was calling him a robber to his face.
Beyond absurd. Beyond ridiculous. And that only made the curiosity sharper. First Cupiditas, now him—two of the Five Lords, and this kid was waltzing in and doing whatever he pleased.
“What the hell are you betting on to act this arrogant?”
Either absolute confidence in his own strength, or pure insanity.
“Betting? I’m just betting on my skill.”
Yujin bared his teeth in a grin.
“Skill, huh…”
Taylon snorted.
“Just another clueless brat after all.”
He admitted the kid was talented. Surviving a face-to-face with Cupiditas at the Alchemists Guild was impressive enough. But that was all. No matter how special, Yujin was still a newbie.
“Drunk on power you picked up in the Tower, can’t even tell sky from dirt.”
Every so often guys like this showed up. A big run in the Tutorial, and suddenly they thought they were the chosen ones. Faster growth, better items—whatever the reason, they always got cocky and overestimated themselves.
And then?
“Guys like you die early.”
They rampaged like this and vanished without a trace. Taylon lost interest. If the kid had Coins and wanted a horse, fine. From the talk, though, he was clearly broke.
“Handle it.”
However he’d survived Cupiditas’s hands, expecting the same luck here? That was his mistake.
Taylon turned away with a wave of his hand. His subordinates moved.
“Hmph.”
Yujin glared at the retreating back with open irritation. If it had still been one Coin like he remembered, he wouldn’t have bothered baring his fangs. But things were different now.
“Wow. Now even some two-bit trash punk like this is looking down on me.”
He laughed in disbelief.
Taylon? King of Trash? Estimated level 100?
None of it meant a damn thing to him. In the first timeline these same bastards hadn’t even been able to meet his eyes. The situation was different now, sure—but that didn’t mean his pride would just swallow it.
“Fine. Let’s do this. I’m getting a horse today no matter what.”
He wasn’t paying Coins. He only had two on him anyway—couldn’t even if he wanted to. That left one option.
Take it.
Mana flooded into Black Wing [A]. A force incomparably greater than the casual swing earlier began to pulse through the blade.
What was Seong Yujin’s greatest strength?
Sovereign of All Diseases [S]? God-Infused Body [S]? Mind-Body Unity [E]? Or the black sword in his hand, Black Wing [A]?
Any one of them was enough to shake the Tower. Owning just one would guarantee a free pass past the thirtieth floor at minimum.
But none of those were it.
“These bastards looking at me like I’m water?”
The experience of climbing all the way to the top of the Tower and tearing the end of the world to shreds with his bare hands—that was the strongest weapon he possessed. Level 100, level 1,000, it didn’t matter.
“Think a high level means a knife won’t go into your gut?”
He focused. With near-superhuman concentration, the world began to slow.
Thud—.
One step forward.
Thanks to Mind-Body Unity [E], his body moved at the exact same speed as his accelerated thoughts.
They’re all strong, I’ll give them that.
Probably because they guarded the King of Trash. Every single one looked to be between level 20 and 50. On Terra of the first floor, that made them reapers. Just not to him.
The black blade carved through space.
Taylon had turned and started walking back to his seat. Then, suddenly—
His feet stopped cold.
What the hell?
A chill raced down his spine as an inexplicable sense of dread surged up.
…This is…
An unfamiliar emotion. In the centuries he’d been bound to the Tower, he’d felt it only a handful of times.
Fear.
A heavy weight crushing his chest—there was no other name for it.
Why?
He’d never felt this even when clashing with the other Lords, Cupiditas included. Instinctively, without thinking, he turned his head.
And he saw it.
A pair of black wings tearing through space, whipping up a raging gale.
KWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-!
Sword aura. Mana racing along the edge of the black winged blade had transformed into tangible force, sweeping the surroundings.
The raw power wasn’t that high. Barely level 10, maybe. Growing that much in a single day was shocking, sure, but for someone of Taylon’s caliber it shouldn’t have warranted a second glance.
And yet.
His eyes flew wide open.
“What the actual fuck…”
This was no simple swing. It looked careless, but the profound subtlety packed inside was something he couldn’t even begin to decipher.
Level 100? Level 200?
No. If it were only that, he wouldn’t be this stunned. At least level 300 and above. Shockingly, Seong Yujin was wielding a sword of that elevated dimension.
Trickle—.
Cold sweat slid down his spine.
What the hell is this guy?!
When he’d heard the kid had toyed with Didascalia on the Tutorial Floor, he’d been mildly surprised but hadn’t paid much mind. He’d even enjoyed the idea of one of the Tower’s Administrators getting screwed. When the kid walked out of Cupiditas’s Abyss alive, he’d just written it off as luck.
But now—
Watching Seong Yujin bare his teeth in a grin while carving through his subordinates, the earlier emotion crashed over him even thicker.
This was no ordinary player. Surviving Didascalia and Cupiditas had never been luck.
Seok— seok— seok—!
Subordinates two or three times his level crumpled like rotten straw. Crimson blood painted the air; screams rang out.
…Monster.
That thing was a monster.
Their eyes met.
An endless abyss. The madness swirling inside it was enough to make anyone’s heart drop straight into their stomach.
“Eyes down, you bastard. Before I pluck out the ink and write the entire Tripitaka with it.”
The flippant threat clamped around Taylon’s heart like a vise.