Chapter 65
Chapter 65
Translator: Penny
Chapter 65
The next morning.
I was sitting in the 11th-floor stairway waiting room.
What I was checking were the rewards for clearing the 10th floor and the score reward for being 1st place in the 10th-floor ranking.
The 10th-floor clear reward was a very intuitive weapon.
[Redline] Classification - Weapon (Chain Scythe) Attack Power + 75 Effects: 1 - Blood Ring: As the chain scythe drinks more blood, attack speed increases and attack power is enhanced. 2 - Bleeding: Enemies damaged by 'Redline' have a 30% chance to fall into a 'Bleeding' state. 3 - Extension: By imbuing the user's Magic Power into the chain, its length can be adjusted according to the user's will. Maximum 30m. Grade: Ss
What is this? Are they telling me to become someone who can wield any weapon? Whoosh- When I gave it a light swing, the sensation wasn't bad. I put the chain scythe into my Inventory.
I checked the 10th-floor score ranking 1st place reward. This reward was very unexpected. "...A ball?" It was a small ball tightly bound with a black knot.
[Brandr-Betarr] Classification - Artifact (Relic) Effect: Only once, in a situation where 'victory' or 'survival' is difficult, it opens a way to somehow break through that situation. Usable Floor: 20th Floor and above Grade: Legendary
"Huh?" Grade, Legendary. A vague yet seemingly quite impressive effect description. But why is the usable floor 20th and above? Situations where victory or survival are difficult should happen plenty even within the 19th floor.
When I attached the image of the description window that appeared with the item to the post, comments from the Transcendence Gallery seniors appeared.
-LMAOOOOOOO Ah LOLOLOLOL It says you have to survive until the 19th floor to use it.
-Wow, but was there an item like that? Interesting. It's even Legendary, holy crap. I've seen weapons three or four times, but this is the first time I've seen one that isn't a weapon. But it seems like an item that Easy and Normal seniors haven't seen.
-Pioneer) ...It should be fine up to Brandr-Betarr. Even if it's a fate-twisting type item.
-Sword of Light) Exactly, that one should be fine.
-Absolute Monarch) I think the same.
-Ice Queen) ...Frozen solid!
The Hard Difficulty seniors left suspicious comments. When I asked what they meant, they left comments saying that not knowing is more comfortable for the peace of mind, which ironically makes one uncomfortable. I could roughly guess what it was. 'Fate-twisting type'. If I use a higher-tier item in this category than Brandr-Betarr, there will probably be some kind of backlash for me. That's a cliché.
-YY*) Guys, leveling up is ridiculously hard, but once you level up, the stat values increase roughly similarly, right?
-Well, shit LMAOOOOO You reached Rank 5 mid-way. Essentially, it should be seen as a Rank 4 capturing a Rank 6, so if the numbers don't come out better than before, you should reset your life.
-Jjuhdak) Experience is ultimately something the 'Tower' you are climbing bestows upon you based on its own judgment.
-Jjuhdak) The reward for your toil might have ended at the 9th floor, but the Tower must have judged that you deserve to receive that much.
-Pioneer) Since it's Pandemonium, I'm not sure now.
-Spear King) I agree. The turbulence is much more severe than Hard Difficulty.
The Tower's judgment. Should I say thank you for recognizing my hard work? Since I'm constantly crossing life-and-death lines, I can't really do that.
I had no intention of entering the 11th-floor stage immediately. What was on my mind was the 13th floor. The floor where the person Pioneer senior met at the Exchange Meeting last term died. I already thought I needed some time to consolidate my own skills. The fight with Dekan and the entry into Rank 5 made me feel the necessity for it.
I set the period for training. Until the Exchange Meeting.
I shifted my gaze to the electronic display board on the wall. April 8th 07:12:34 Until next Exchange Meeting, D - 17 The Exchange Meeting is on April 25th.
I had plenty of coins left to buy food. For the remaining 17 days, I will fully make this achieved Rank 5, which still feels somewhat foreign, my own.
I took out my terminal and projected the video of my fight with Dekan onto the wall of the 11th-floor waiting room. Every single movement of Knight Dekan was helpful for combat.
Title: Learning Valsenartz Swordsmanship. Here I go. Author: YY*
-Gonna learn the swordsmanship too. Need to stabilize Rank 5 overall. Planning to train in the 11th-floor stairway waiting room for about a month.
-Sword of Light) Yes, that's not a bad choice.
-Scum Sword Saint) YY, that process is absolutely necessary.
-Jjuhdak) Good. Well, the 13th floor Pioneer mentioned is coming up soon too... You need some time for self-assessment.
-Pioneer) Well, looking at the difficulty level you're experiencing now, the 13th floor might not be particularly more dangerous. Because the danger level is already quite high. But Ban wasn't the kind of person to die so easily either.
A Hard Difficulty Climber who cleared the Tower evaluated him that highly, and that person died. Then, I thought there must be some reason worthy of that. On the 13th floor.
The crisis I experienced on the 10th floor the previous day was a hidden quest choice with seven stars that I voluntarily selected. That was a challenge I could undertake because I possessed the Transcendent Gallery. In the end, if it weren't for the Fragment of the Holy Sword, I wouldn't have been able to annihilate Dekan.
It's just one mountain after another.
-Absolute Monarch) Just looking at the Sword Manual should be enough for understanding. I wrote it in detail. But you even have audiovisual materials.
-Absolute Monarch) If there's any part you don't understand while studying, ask questions.
-YY*) Thanks. As you said, senior, it's written in detail.
I was about to close the Transcendent Gallery when I saw one post. Title: Climber Gallery, why is there still not a single person predicting that the Climber is Pandemonium?!!! Author: Water King
-Why are you only spouting nonsense about errors and bugs? A score over 4,000 points appeared, and no one is making any guesses? This is strange in its own right. I'll do it myself!!!!
-For real, if your head isn't made of stone, it's about time to start guessing.
-Pioneer) True.
-Spear King) Could it be that they don't know about the existence of Pandemonium itself?
-Water King) Is that possible...?
-Jjuhdak) It's possible they don't know.
-Jjuhdak) Using the Climber Gallery is absolutely impossible below the 30th floor, right?
-Jjuhdak) The number of people summoned to Pandemonium itself is small. Even in our term, the maximum record for that guy named Ban, whom Pioneer added as a friend, was the 12th floor. That person also died on the 13th floor.
-Jjuhdak) If Pandemonium Climbers started entering after a situation was created where Union Leader Targon manages all mailboxes of floors below 30... that is, where information below the 30th floor can be perfectly controlled, then it's entirely possible they don't know.
-Jjuhdak) The Union Leader at the head of that information couldn't not know, but other Climbers are highly likely not to know.
-Secret Room Theorist) Ah, from Union Leader Targon's perspective, if he found out there's a difficulty higher than 'Hard Difficulty', wouldn't he try to hide that fact itself?
-Scum Sword Saint) ? Why would he try to hide that?
-Absolute Monarch) If Jjuhdak's deduction is correct, the reason is simple. Because his authority would be shaken. Just the fact that there is a difficulty above Hard Difficulty would inevitably create people who don't consider the Union Leader himself to be the strongest.
-Absolute Monarch) He must have judged that if that happens, the Strategy Alliance would have difficulty exerting its absolute position as it does now. That judgment itself is correct.
-Spear King) Certainly... Even if there were Pandemonium Climbers before Han Yoo-seong.
-Water King) Worry... SOLVED!!!!
-Jjuhdak) This is just a hypothesis, what do you mean solved?
-Water King) Jjuhdak, your hypotheses have never been wrong!!!
<Climber Gallery> Title: Hey~ what? The private 10th-floor score is 4,578 points? Author: LifeIsPainByDefault - Even though I barely managed to take down the Lizardman chieftain's head all by myself, grabbing my team members who were crawling on the 10th floor by the scruff of their necks, bleeding profusely, my score was only 747. 4578???? The fuck, what unit is this? This score can't come out unless they took down a Rank 6 or 7 on the 10th floor?? That couldn't have happened, right?? Aah, fix the bugs, you damn Tower administrators!!!
Surprisingly, 'LifeIsPainByDefault', unaware that they had made a deduction very close to the truth, seemed quite angry.
-LMAOOOOOOO Agreed, for real, it looks like a bug to anyone, but they don't even fix it LMAOOOO
-Does that make any sense? LOL
-Where's Sharp Spear, dude? You gotta catch that 4578-point monster. We're screwed.
-Alderamin) As long as it's not me~~!!!!
-Sharp Spear) Screwed my ass, you bastard. And what do you mean, does private take down a Rank 6 or 7, LifeIsPain.
-Sharp Spear) That just looks like some Easy player bastard did a 'no damage clear'. There must have been a bug where like 5,000 of those Talon H-type mobs, which are super numerous and ridiculously easy to kill, spawned.
-Gwonma) You're running the hope circuit quite plausibly.
-Black Hand) Plausible, I guess; A bug that's never appeared before keeps popping up rapidly along with that private bastard? Bullshit, no way.
-Ah, private guy, hurry up and come to the 30th floor, YY.
-If it's hard, reaching the 10th floor in almost two months is considered very fast, but here you are urging.
-This bastard isn't even Hard himself, but he's doing a cheap shot while riding on the Hard shield. Got no self-respect? Gah!
-I Am Still Alive) Everyone, just focus on climbing... What's the use of who has how many points and what the difficulty is? What's important is not falling behind yourself.
-Yeah, next boomer YY
-Comprehensive content of letters from the bastards who met 'Private' and the guys from the last Exchange Meeting.
-'Wears a red mask and personality seems cool but kinda tryhard. Voice is low and pretty good. Looked somewhat cool because combat power was strong, would have looked more like a tryhard if weak.'
-LMAOOOOOOOOOOO So fucking funny.
-Alderamin) Sharp Spear, I think you won the image war LMAOOOOOOOO
Hard Difficulty Tower Numbering #35. Hard Difficulty 67th-floor Stairway Waiting Room.
<Strategy Alliance> Guild's Guild Leader, Targon, was looking at the 10th-floor ranking window with hazy eyes. A score that he couldn't even begin to grasp how it could be obtained was occupying 1st place.
《 10th Floor - Score Ranking 》 1st - Private : 4,578 points new! 2nd - Union Leader : 892 points 3rd - Black Star : 801 points 4th - Chasing : 793 points 5th - LifeIsPainByDefault : 747 points 6th - Black Hand : 721 points ⋮ ⋮
Targon had to admit that a possibility he had vaguely considered might be close to the truth. 'It really might be Pandemonium.'
Pandemonium. It wasn't the first time he had seen its appearance itself. Reports coming in regularly every month via letters from players on the 5th floor and above. Among them, reports of encountering Pandemonium Climbers totaled two. Only two over a very long period. One succeeded in adding as a friend at an Exchange Meeting. Confirmed death when the friend's name turned black on Pandemonium 4th floor. The other was met at an Exchange Meeting and conversed with. He revealed he was progressing through the Exchange Meeting 3rd-floor stage while in Pandemonium, but the reporters couldn't add him as a friend, and since then, no news of that guy could be obtained. And judging by the fact that he hasn't appeared in the Climber Gallery to date, he was certainly dead.
If 'Private' was truly a Pandemonium Climber, he would be the third Pandemonium Climber within Targon's knowledge.
Union Leader Targon. It was his 9th year since entering the Tower. The news of the two dead Pandemonium Climbers came from 6 years ago. 21st-century Earthlings first started entering the Tower just 1 year ago. 'Is this guy something different?'
Pandemonium was always thought to be a place where anyone who started climbing anew would inevitably die. But this guy, Private, reached the 10th floor. And displayed a score on a different dimension. 'I perfectly controlled the information about Pandemonium difficulty.'
The reporter who had befriended the Pandemonium player who died on the 4th floor was given the hat of a mid-level executive in the Strategy Alliance, making him my perfect loyalist. The two who witnessed the Pandemonium player, who said he was progressing through the 3rd-floor stage, at an Exchange Meeting, coincidentally both died together on Hard Difficulty 38th floor. Except for that loyalist, only my right-hand man, Attack Captain Velacia, knows of Pandemonium's existence. That loyalist, who has tasted the sweet flavor of power thoroughly, wouldn't be the type to wish for the Strategy Alliance Guild's authority to crumble, so information regarding the existence of Pandemonium won't be leaked. 'Right... Come on up once, Private.'
Targon's feelings were split in half. Half of him wished for this guy to die, like all Pandemonium Climbers so far, so that his and the <Strategy Alliance>'s lofty authority wouldn't crumble. And the other half wished for him to stubbornly survive and come up to show him just what kind of place Pandemonium is.
Targon slowly got up. He too now needed to gradually enter the 67th-floor stage. He thought of it as work for the subordinates and colleagues who had completely died out on the 66th floor.
Tremble tremble tremble... But the trembling of his right arm, which had been completely torn off once on the 66th floor, still hadn't stopped.
BAM! Targon stamped the floor hard with his right foot. Like this. I cannot advance.
Exchange Meeting D - 1
I felt the need to change my appearance. Because of one post uploaded by Water King senior yesterday.
Title: LOLOLOLOL Hey Climber!!!!!!!! Author: Water King
I shouldn't wear the red mask. Copying the content exactly as seen in the Climbing Gallery. Comprehensive content of letters from the bastards who met 'Private' and the guys from the last Exchange Meeting. 'He wears a red mask and his personality seems cool but kinda tryhard. Voice is low and pretty good. Looked somewhat cool because combat power was strong, would have looked more like a tryhard if weak.' LOLOLOLOL Somehow try an image transformation, my friend.
There should be something for changing appearance from the 10th floor, right? I had checked yesterday. That something more had appeared in the 'Etc.' section.
[Outer Appearance Transformation for Mask-type Items - Animal Edition] Chicken, Pigeon, Rabbit, Puppy, Tiger, Giraffe... There are a lot. Why does this cost 25 coins? But since I received 5000 coins under the name '10th Floor Score Ranking Beyond Imagination! Special Coin Distribution!', I wasn't short on money.
I decided to change the appearance of [Mask of the Crimson Night] with this. To the pure white rabbit in this list.
Click. As soon as I selected it, it was applied very cleanly to the Mask of the Crimson Night.
[Caution! The outer transformation period is 7 days!] That was enough.
It transformed into the appearance of a pure white rabbit doll mask, slightly larger than my head size. Of course, the Mask of the Crimson Night's effects remained the same. Its sturdy durability as an Ss+ grade mask, making it hard to remove, also remained the same.
I took a picture with my terminal. Title: Tried a new mask design. Is it okay? Author: YY* Attachment: 9012832901.fak (Rabbit doll mask with perky upright ears)
-Wha, what is this.
-The rabbit doll mask itself is cute... but thinking about Climber-nim wearing it, hmm.
-Water King) LOLOLOLOL It's because of the post I uploaded yesterday!!! It's cute. So cute!!!
-Archmage) Are you joining some theater troupe? The design is fine. It's cute. Our term also had something like this, but the quality has really improved. Hey.
-Dragon King) Beltui- It's a rabbit rabbit~.
-Sword of Light) You're not planning to wear this to this Exchange Meeting, are you?
-YY*) Correct. This time, I've prepared a concept in preparation for the Exchange Meeting. It's a concept I thought about all day long, no less.
-Water King) There should be voice modulation too. The 48-hour one. Buy that too LOLOLOLOL
-YY*) Bought it. With an old man's voice. [Candy of Intense Middle-Aged Man's Voice with a Unique Philosophy - 48-hour Voice] If you eat the candy, your voice changes for 48 hours. I thought, why is the price 50 coins, twice that of the mask outer transformation item, when the duration is shorter? But looking at the description, it made sense. It said it finely coordinates the original user's voice and the voice item's voice so that even if two users using the same voice talk, different voices come out. I could feel the strange obsession of the being who made this.
Anyway, the preparations were finished.
A day passed. Current time, April 25th 12:00 [Starting the Tower Exchange Meeting.] [Tower Exchange Meeting Server#1701] [Tower Exchange Meeting Theme: Sparring]