Troll Links and Tower Goblins

I left a thank-you reply and immediately clicked the link the kind-hearted troll had left behind. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Then I froze solid. A few other users who had been lurking on the complaint board and clicked the link at the same time reacted before I could.

Finally snapping out of it, I left a short comment of my own.

I flicked through the floating system window while casually deleting a few more aggressively bait-filled posts from the bottom of the gallery. Then I turned to Sieun, who was crouched beside me folding towels and peeking at the screen.

“Did you see that troll attack on the complaint board just now?”

She stopped folding and burst into genuine laughter.

“Yeah, I saw it. In all my three-plus years as a Padak, I've never seen anyone pull off a troll link like that. I was dying trying not to laugh earlier. More importantly, what was that ‘insanely pretty roommate’ line? That sounded way too smooth.”

“It was at least half true. Anyway, these lunatics are getting more creative by the day. The ban list never stays empty.”

“If you weren't here, I would've had to suffer through it all because of my Lazy Padak trait… Just thinking about it gives me chills.”

We clicked our tongues and continued our idle chatter about the spicy side of the integrated community. Once we'd dealt with the urgent fires, I stretched and stood up.

“By the way, I should head to the sixth floor soon. Want to grab something to eat first?”

“Huh? Really? I'd love that!”

Sieun, who had been cooped up in the apartment for an entire month, shot to her feet the moment I finished speaking, tossed the towel aside, and grabbed her jacket.

Afterward, we sat across from each other at a fairly famous samgyeopsal place near our studio apartment. The sizzling smell of meat on the grill kept trying to draw our attention, but our eyes stayed glued to the translucent community windows floating in front of us instead.

“Look at this. The Murim Alliance elder posted again, hiding his nickname while trash-talking the unorthodox factions. Does he really think ending every sentence with ‘~desu-ung’ hides his speech pattern? Isn't that infuriating?”

“Where? Oh, you're right. Does that guy have dementia or something? Why does he keep using the same IP to make these posts? Should I just ban him now?”

“Leave it. He's already getting torn apart by other high-level users in the comments anyway.”

We flipped the meat with the tongs while enthusiastically spectating the mud-slinging fights between major factions and hunters on the other side of the screen. The lively discussion and banter were reaching a peak when I absentmindedly clicked on a newly posted thread.

Right in the center of the screen appeared an overwhelmingly colorful and grotesque image that easily pierced through the mosaic filter.

“Ah, what the actual fuck…”

“Kyaaah!”

I dropped the meat tongs onto the table with a clatter. Sieun squeezed her eyes shut and let out a short scream. The mouthwatering aroma of samgyeopsal that had been filling the air just moments ago instantly transformed into a nauseating stench. We both stood up at the same time, as if on cue.

“…Should we just go?”

“Yeah, my stomach's turning… I think I'm gonna throw up.”

In the end, we left the restaurant in a hurry, abandoning the half-cooked meat on the grill and fleeing straight home.

Once back at the apartment, I only managed to settle my stomach after downing two bottles of digestive medicine. While lightly stretching, I spoke to Sieun, whose face was still pale.

“I'm heading into the tower for a bit. You don't have to do any housework, so just rest.”

“Th-thanks…”

After confirming Sieun's nod from where she lay sprawled on the sofa, I immediately tapped the tower entry button floating in the air. My vision flashed, and familiar system text covered my sight.

They said your combat rating gets measured again after clearing each theme… Just like the first time, a blue scanning wave swept over my entire body.

Soon after, my updated stats and combat rating appeared.

“Mm-hmm, I see.”

I wasn't particularly surprised since I'd already expected this. I casually pushed the system window that was causing a fuss to the side of my vision and looked straight ahead. At the same time, a damp earthy smell rushed in. The surroundings had transformed into a dense, dark forest. According to the guidebook, floors 6 through 10 had a goblin theme. If it had been Easy difficulty, it would've been a simple quest of wiping out a single tribe of dumb goblins that only carried rocks and branches while squeaking.

But the creatures blocking my path after I pushed through the undergrowth were anything but ordinary. A goblin shaman that should only appear as a hidden boss on the 10th floor. A massive goblin warrior, the hidden boss of Hard Mode. Plus a goblin assassin hiding in the shadows and a goblin chieftain wielding a flaming mace. A total of four hidden-boss-level monsters had surrounded me in a circle, radiating murderous intent.

“…Hoo, my appetite's already gone thanks to that disgusting image, and now the timing's just perfect.”

Muttering in irritation, I kicked the ground hard. At the same time, cold ice mana burst from my feet, and a dazzling ice flower bloomed in the air. Snow Shadow Ice Flower Step. My body leaped lightly as if gliding through the air on feathers and dropped onto the head of the goblin assassin who had been aiming for a surprise attack from behind.

Thud—!

The assassin's skull couldn't withstand the mana-infused kick and burst like a watermelon.

-Kieeeek!!

Enraged by their comrade's pointless death, the goblin warrior and chieftain charged forward with their weapons raised. I stepped back lightly and gathered ice mana to its limit in both hands. Ice and Snow Soldier Technique. Moisture in the air rapidly froze, forming a greatsword in my right hand and a shield in my left. Without hesitation, I stepped on successive lotus platforms and dove into the warrior's embrace, then swung the ice greatsword upward in a large arc, slicing his thick torso clean in half. At the same time, I threw the shield and embedded it squarely in the forehead of the shaman who had been chanting a curse spell from the rear.

Hmm… Why did I even make a shield if I was just going to throw it?

-Kyaaak!!

The last remaining chieftain roared in fury and brought down his flaming mace. I twisted my waist to dodge the trajectory, then split him vertically in two just like the goblin warrior. In less than ten seconds, I looked down at the four hidden bosses sprawled pathetically around me and dispersed the weapons in my hands into ice powder.

“These guys remind me of that disgusting image too.”

After checking all the system messages that filled my vision and the somewhat lacking but overall decent rewards, I exited the tower without any lingering attachment.

“Ugh… You're already back?”

The moment I exited the tower, Sieun greeted me from her sprawled position on the sofa.

“The more I see it, the more amazing it is… How can you get this strong with a Padak trait that has no combat ability at all?”

“Well… Padaks grow stronger through sponsorships and quests rather than the trait itself, right? Haven't you received quite a few rewards too?”

“Because of my Lazy Padak trait, I've only been able to complete three quests in three years.”

“Ah… Right.”

I'd momentarily forgotten about the Lazy Padak trait. I immediately apologized with a guilty expression, told her to rest and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠recover her mental state, then switched back to Blue Badge 3 and resumed managing the gallery.

Exactly ten minutes after clearing the 6th floor of the tower, right after deleting another shitpost, a message worth ten million won arrived from Korea's Awakened Association.

‘A conversation? Hmm… I might as well hear what they want.’

After finishing my deliberation, I immediately created a secret post in the archive category in the corner of the community and invited Hunter Association - Lee Hyeon-woo.

He listed the evidence he'd gathered one by one: the fact that the time zones when I mainly managed the community matched Korea's working hours remarkably well, and that the reasons I gave when deleting shitposts and the gallery slang I used were based on distinctly Korean sensibilities. Sieun and I quietly watched the floating text without any response. When I didn't deny anything and simply listened, he seemed to gain some courage and carefully brought up the real main point.

‘…Aha.’

Only then did I instantly understand why they were approaching me at this particular moment.

‘Come to think of it, the Korean rankers are also stuck on the 61st floor for a month now.’

When you reach the 10th floor of the Tower of Ruin, you must make a faction selection to decide your affiliation. And once you choose a specific country or faction there, you would essentially be bound to only climb that country or faction's tower from then on. That's why they wanted to secure me, who was setting new records on Extreme difficulty while flying through the tower, for Korea in order to somehow save the Republic of Korea, which was gradually struggling with the climb and heading toward ruin. The fact that I was also Korean made it even easier for them to approach me.

‘Hmm… So what choice should I make?’