The Madman's Descent
Among all the races climbing the tower,
it was no exaggeration to say the dark elves were the strongest.
Whoooooosh...
Three of those very dark elves
were dead.
Whoooooosh!
Yet, heedless of the tragedy, the wind of the snowy mountain only grew sharper.
...
The relatively stronger races could not open their mouths, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.
...
The relatively weaker races could not open their mouths, paralyzed by sheer terror.
[Humans]
If one had to define them, they belonged to the "weak" category.
Though exceptional individuals appeared from time to time, they were a rare minority.
Most humans were slaughtered by other races, and that was considered the natural order of things.
But now,
everything that had transpired on this wind-swept, snowy mountain—the mere appearance of Lee Taepyeong—shattered that history.
"Are you insane?" a dwarf shouted.
"W-we're all going to die...!" a halfling wailed.
But Lee Taepyeong didn't even bat an eye.
"Who's dying?"
...
"Ah, those guys?"
...
When Taepyeong pointed at the dark elf corpses rolling on the ground, a sudden silence fell over the ramparts.
"Look, I'm not trying to foster some sense of camaraderie by using the word 'we'..."
...
"But we aren't going to die."
...
"To be precise..."
...
"I am not going to die."
As Taepyeong spoke while casually picking his ear, groans and sighs erupted from all sides.
"Do you think you'll be safe just because you're a summoner?" a dragon-blooded asked coldly.
Taepyeong let out a smirk. "Ha."
"I never said I was a summoner."
"...!"
"Are you worried I'm going to survive on my own using that mutt?"
"Isn't that exactly what you're planning?"
Tweeeet!
Before the dragon-blooded could even finish his sentence, Taepyeong blew his whistle.
Instantly, Cerberus vanished.
"Happy now?"
"W-what on earth are you thinking?!"
"People with actual brains don't climb towers."
"W-what?!"
"They'd probably study hard, go to college, and get a job at a major corporation."
"C-college? Major corporation...?"
"Ah, right. You guys wouldn't know about that."
"You bastard...!"
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Just then, the sound of drums echoed from the distance.
"It's already starting."
Taepyeong casually tossed the dagger in his hand.
Thud!
The blade pierced right through the center of the leather hide the dark elves had been holding.
"Now, you all want to live, right?"
...
No one answered.
Rather, they couldn't.
Regardless of his intentions, everyone knew how powerful Taepyeong was.
For all they knew, this single human might pull off something even crazier than the dark elves.
Paralyzed by that fear, no one dared to speak.
"First of all..."
...
"I have no intention of making you do perverted things like carving a god's mark on yourselves."
...
"And I don't want your Contribution Points either."
...
The non-humans began to whisper among themselves.
Then what did he want?
Unable to contain his frustration, a dwarf bellowed, "Then what in the world do you want?!"
As if waiting for that exact question, Taepyeong replied, "To go outside the ramparts."
...!
...!!
...!!!
The non-humans gasped in shock.
"Are you crazy?"
"He's insane."
"Madness!"
Seeing them all scream that he was out of his mind, Taepyeong chuckled.
Sigh, what a bunch of cowards.
If they were going to be this terrified, why did they even enter the tower in the first place?
Taepyeong clicked his tongue and looked at the crowd.
"Don't worry."
...!
"I'm not asking you to come with me."
The crowd murmured, even more shocked than when he had first declared his intention to go outside.
"T-then, you're saying you're going out there alone?" a pale-faced halfling asked.
"Yep," Taepyeong replied nonchalantly.
"Is this a suicide attempt?"
"He must have lost his mind..."
The non-humans muttered their own theories.
Barely listening, Taepyeong scratched his ear and asked, "Unless you guys have a better idea?"
...
"If you do, speak up. I'm listening."
...
The area fell dead silent.
Taepyeong, looking over the ramparts, pointed. "You, over there."
...!
"You, and you."
...!!
...!!
"And you, too."
...!!!
The ones Taepyeong selected were a diverse group of non-humans.
They had one thing in common:
They were all mages.
Specifically, fire magic specialists.
"Y-you said you weren't asking us to go with you!" a gnome shrieked, looking terrified that they might be dragged along anyway.
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch," Taepyeong sighed deeply.
"Unless you're at least as useful as Woo Jumin, what would I even use you for?"
Woo Jumin?
Hearing the unfamiliar name, the mages exchanged bewildered glances.
Only then did Taepyeong realize his slip of the tongue and scratch the back of his head.
"Anyway, that's not it."
...
"You all know how to use fire magic, right?"
...?
"Just melt the gate for me."
...!!
"My physical strength is a bit lacking to just smash it open."
Though I'm fine in every other department, Taepyeong shamelessly added. The non-humans could only stare at him in utter disbelief.
"No!" a dwarf stepped forward.
"Did everyone forget the objective of this map?"
The dwarf shouted, the veins in his neck bulging.
"It's to protect the ramparts!"
!!!!
"If the ramparts are breached, we lose! We must absolutely not let him go out!!"
At the dwarf's words, the non-humans began to stir again.
"Yes, we must stop him at all costs!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Taepyeong listened quietly before letting out another sigh.
"And how exactly are you going to do that?"
...?!
"You guys were meekly handing over your Contribution Points to those dark elves just a moment ago."
...!!!
"How do you plan on stopping me?"
No one could answer.
Not a single person could think of a way to stop Taepyeong, who had just instantly vaporized three dark elves.
"Tsk, tsk."
Taepyeong clicked his tongue, having expected as much.
"And here I was, thinking of sharing the reward chests with you guys."
Whoooooosh...
"Never mind then."
I'll just hog them all for myself.
The ramparts were made of glacial ice, and fire magic was essential to break through them.
The only problem was that I wasn't a mage.
But it's not like there's no way.
I could just buy a fire magic-related item from the shop.
It would cost some Contribution Points, but hey, those guys refused to cooperate.
Just as I was about to open the system shop, someone grabbed my shoulder.
I turned around to look.
There stood someone wearing a mask.
What is this now?
An item?
It looked like some kind of tribal mask.
"Are you human?"
The masked figure nodded.
"Are you trying to stop me?"
The masked figure shook their head.
What's this? Is he going for a mute concept?
"Are you saying you'll help me?"
Nod, nod.
"Do you have fire magic?"
Shake, shake.
Then how was he going to help?
As I stared at him in bewilderment, the masked figure raised his hand.
Then, he pointed at the dagger embedded in the ground.
Float...
The dagger slowly rose into the air.
Telekinesis?
Float...
Following the movement of the masked figure's hand, the dagger flew over the ramparts.
Float...
Soon, it began to descend very slowly toward the ground outside.
"Oh!"
So he could lower me down without needing to open the gate?
It certainly seemed much more efficient than breaking the gate down.
It would also cause less backlash from those idiots.
In fact, it fit my goals perfectly!
If I kill them all by myself, all the rewards will be mine.
Hehehe.
Those cowards cowering up here would only get a measly amount of Contribution Points.
But I wasn't after points.
Achievements, titles, reward chests.
Those were what I wanted.
You guys can just farm your little points here.
I'll take care of the rest.
I grinned and looked down the ramparts.
The distance was too far to land safely using the blink of Echo Walker.
That was why I had thought of breaking the gate, but having a telekinetic changed things.
"Okay."
I grinned and shook hands with the masked guy.
"I'm in your hands."
Nod, nod.
The masked guy stretched his hands toward me.
He seemed to mutter something, and soon...
Float...
My body began to rise.
Not bad.
However, balancing was a bit of an issue, so I flailed around for a moment.
The masked guy waited until I got the hang of it.
Once I figured out how to stand straight in the air, he moved me past the ramparts.
The rest of the non-humans watched me as if I were a complete lunatic.
I grinned and waved at them.
"Don't worry, it won't take long."
At the same time,
my body began to slowly descend.
Since the speed was quite slow, I crossed my arms and leisurely took in the scenery.
The view was actually quite nice from up here.
It felt like being in a movie.
Murmur, murmur.
Murmur, murmur.
Getting closer to the ground meant getting closer to the enemies outside.
The opposing team spotted me and stared in utter bewilderment.
Their expressions weren't much different from the guys on the ramparts.
Should I drop down from here?
Since I was close enough to the ground, I used the blink of Echo Walker to land.
Squelch!
Huh?
"...Ah, damn it!"
Son of a bitch.
Of all places, I had to land right on top of a dark elf whose body had exploded.
Talk about bad luck.
My shoes got dirty!
Why the hell was this guy dead right here?
"Ah, and I don't even have any tissues...!"
Stomp, stomp.
I stomped my feet in the snow, trying to shake off the flesh and blood stuck to my Echo Walker boots.
Bits of dark elf flesh and blood splattered onto the white snow.
Meanwhile, the non-humans outside the ramparts watched me as if I were a total psycho.
Hmm, the vibe is a bit different here.
Unlike the top of the ramparts, which had halflings, gnomes, dwarves, dark elves, dragon-bloods, and humans, this place was crawling with physical powerhouses like orcs and beastmen.
Well, this is actually more comfortable for me.
Just like I did on the ramparts, I smiled and waved at them.
"Bwahaha!"
An orc burst into laughter the moment he saw me.
Judging by his thick, long tusks, he looked like he possessed some decent strength.
"It was funny enough watching that dark elf fall to his death..."
The orc even pretended to wipe away a tear, as if it were the funniest thing he'd ever seen.
"But a human walking down here on his own two feet is even funnier!"
Ah.
A classic villain line.
"It better be funny," I casually retorted.
"Since today is the day you die, you might as well get a good laugh in before you go."
"What?!"
"That dark elf falling was fucking hilarious, wasn't it?"
As I asked with a sly grin, the orc's face contorted.
"I did that, by the way."
"...Bwahaha!"
Seeing him burst into laughter again, it was clear he didn't believe a word.
Well, whatever.
"Hey, boys."
They'd believe it soon enough, whether they wanted to or not.
"Big bro is going to show you a neat trick."