Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Beginner - 1
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After wrapping up my spar with Tiana and sharing some heartfelt talk, the tension finally eased from my body.
Only then did I become aware of my surroundings.
"...Uh, um. Are you done?"
"Sorry for making you wait."
Rien stood at the entrance to the training grounds, holding a red drink in each hand.
How long had she been there?
Did she come in while we were sparring?
I thought there were no other adventurers left in the training hall.
"Oh, I only bought two. Want one of mine?"
"I'm good. You bought them to drink yourself."
"If you want some, just say so. I can share a sip."
Tiana took the potion from Rien and sucked it down through the straw in an instant.
She hadn't shown it, but her throat must have been parched after the sparring.
"Whoa, is a potion allowed to taste this good?"
"On the first floor, recovery effects aren't all that useful, so they focused their business on flavor."
It was a strategy targeting a niche demand.
There was no need to strain for 'healing' on the first floor.
"Kyah—! Now I feel alive."
Tiana's cup was already empty.
"I must have interrupted."
"You showed up right when I needed a break."
"Have you been teaching Rien this whole time?"
It had been needless worry.
Out of all those adventurers, one had stayed behind.
Good.
"She's a joy to teach."
"That good?"
"Can't even compare to when I taught you."
No matter how talentless I was, she had to be better than me.
Seeing her beam like that melted my worries away.
"W-Why are you staring like that?"
"Just... you seem to be working hard."
It was hard to bring up the strategy guides in front of Tiana.
Rien had taken the Crimson Flame Guild's guide, so she surely wouldn't skip Moonlight Guild's.
It wasn't number one, but it was still a major powerhouse guild.
Even if she hadn't read it, she wasn't oblivious enough to miss the mood.
"You said she was the one who taught my senior."
"......"
"If I want to get strong like you, I need to learn something too."
Now I understood the look in her eyes that Koon had mentioned.
I really couldn't hate her.
"I saw your spar, so how could I just pass by?"
"......These days' kids... I thought they were all obsessed with rare classes."
"I wasn't without greed, but I figured it was fine."
The ambiguous phrasing made it hard to grasp her meaning.
Was it that a Common class was okay?
Or that she wouldn't change classes even if she ignored Moonlight Guild's guidelines?
"Like you said, she's a master you can't meet below the 90th floor."
"Hrm—."
"If I can learn from someone that strong starting from the first floor, class doesn't matter."
Tiana cleared her throat, embarrassed by the praise.
"Well, training with her was fun too......"
"Hm?"
Tiana's training was pretty intense, not easy to enjoy.
Maybe swordplay suited her aptitude.
"I told her I'd share stories from my old days every 200 swings, and she went at it like crazy."
"Why would you......?"
"She loved the one about crying after my third loss the most."
"No, you can't just spill someone's dark history—!"
Too late to cover Tiana's mouth now.
Rien stifled her laughter; who knew how many stories she'd heard.
"As an apology, have the last sip."
"You drink it......"
"Hehe, I won't ask about those three times."
Rien slurped up the potion through the straw until nothing was left.
"Drinks are done. What now?"
"That's enough for today. No need to overdo it on the first day."
Tiana glanced my way.
"My stubborn disciple sparred twice today, so I have no strength left to teach."
"Ahem—. You wanted a rematch, so I obliged."
"The guy who never showed when I called comes twice uninvited. I've raised a rebel."
This is why daily behavior matters.
I came worrying when I thought no one was around, and now I'm the disobedient disciple.
Whatever, she looks happy.
"See you tomorrow."
"Take care!"
"Let me say goodbye too."
"You know the way. How many days have you lived off the tower?"
Even as she said it, Tiana waved vigorously.
"Show your face more often. It's lonely otherwise."
"I'll drop by frequently."
After leaving the training grounds with Rien, we headed to Raymond's inn.
"You really plan to go back to the training grounds tomorrow?"
"Of course? There's still tons I haven't learned."
"Thanks."
"Huh?"
That you're becoming her disciple.
I swallowed the rest and we each went to our rooms to sleep.
The sharp clacking of a keyboard echoed through the room.
Most of the time was spent in silence, sitting still in assigned seats, waiting endlessly.
Every ten minutes, a civil servant's voice called out. The person to my left headed straight into the room.
Perhaps tense, their steps creaked like a broken robot.
Another ten minutes of waiting.
"Number 28, come in."
My turn at last.
"Place all your documents here."
"Ah, yes."
I set down the ledgers of debts and assets, credit info, family relations certificate, criminal record check, personality test, and verifications for all of it on the desk.
Tedious procedures one after another, but today would end it all.
I'm entering the tower.
"It's the final step, but nothing major. Just getting final consent from those entering the tower."
"Understood."
"From the moment you enter the tower, ...-ssi will be treated as legally equivalent to deceased. Do you consent?"
"Yes, I consent."
Once you enter the tower, you can never come out.
Countless people who entered prove it.
That's why the government has such strict procedures.
The tower is the perfect escape for criminals avoiding punishment or debtors drowning in debt.
To enter the tower, you can't leave any ties to reality.
"Then we'll move to the gate. Follow me."
Finishing all preparations doesn't mean anyone can enter the tower.
Even among applicants, only randomly selected ones get the chance.
Unlike scraping by in reality, the tower was a dangerous gamble where you might die fighting monsters.
Yet the tower's interior was romantic and adventurous enough to draw people in.
I had no family to leave behind, no lingering attachments here, so nothing held me back from entering.
"Will you use your real name inside the tower? Or do you have a prepared alias?"
"I have one in mind, but do I have to tell you?"
"Not required. Just personal curiosity."
Until moments ago, the civil servant had maintained a perfectly official demeanor.
Even among the selected, he'd seen plenty of aspiring adventurers today, so it was natural not to fixate on each one.
For such a person to mention personal curiosity right before the gate was unexpected, leaving me flustered.
He didn't seem particularly interested even now.
"'Rien'."
"Got it."
The civil servant scribbled on the documents with a black pen.
If I became famous in the tower, the name would spread anyway. Telling one person early was no big deal.
No guarantee of success, but no reason to fail either, right?
"I hope you survive."
The civil servant's voice, right before crossing the gate, sounded choked up for some reason.
【1st Floor Gate】
- Will you challenge the 1st floor?
A refreshing sensation enveloped my body,
and just like that, I arrived in the tower.
A floating sensation made it hard to gauge time, but suddenly, a medieval village scene unfolded before my eyes.
And around me—
"I actually entered the tower!"
"What should I do first?"
—were people.
〈1〉
People with numbers floating above their heads,
and a ton of them.
〈1〉
〈1〉
〈1〉
〈1〉
〈1〉
All 1s.
What did that mean?
I'd never heard of numbers appearing above heads upon entering the tower.
A unique ability of mine.
I immediately opened my status window.
It listed various info, but right now, only one mattered.
"My... my trait...?"
Ah.
I'm screwed.
Lowest grade.
Bland name too.
And—
"Not even cool......"
I'd have to figure out its effects myself, but given the grade, I couldn't expect much.
Seeing everyone around with 1s, maybe it let me see others' levels?
〈60〉
I spotted a celebrity.
Amelia, leader of the number one ranked guild.
Her bright red hair made her unmistakable at a glance.
60 floated above her head.
That revealed what the trait did.
The Crimson Flame Guild conquering the 60th floor had been all over the news days ago.
"It shows the highest floor they've conquered."
A lame ability that nearly brought tears.
Uncool and useless.
But it was only day one in the tower; too early to give up.
I followed the other new adventurers to the inn.
It was common knowledge that rooms ran out fast if you didn't secure one early in the morning.
And there, I saw an absurd number.
"Earthbound Spirit-ssi, you should've said something if you were here! Things are so hectic right now!"
"Earthbound Spirit?"
The unique name slipped out unfiltered.
⋮
"He's basically your senior, so feel free to ask him anything you're curious about."
Above the man called Earthbound Spirit,
〈714〉
was a number beyond specs.