S-Rank Beauty (2)
The Climber Gallery is full of guys who are dying to show off their knowledge. To be precise, they get off on the attention and praise they receive from others when they flaunt what they know. Anyway, a post written by one of those types popped into my head.
Today, for the sake of those muggles and aspiring climbers, I’ll take the time to explain the tower’s structure.
The tower has floors from 1 to 100. So far, humanity has only cleared up to the 53rd floor. I assume everyone already knows that much.
Now, about the floor structure. Aside from the boss stages that appear every 5 floors, they all follow a similar layout: a central Neutral Zone and Dungeon Zones.
In the Neutral Zone, you get insane durability and regeneration buffs. If you get hurt outside the tower, just step inside and your wounds heal in seconds. Well, that only applies to physical injuries—curses and stuff like that won’t budge… but anyway, if you return to the Neutral Zone after a mission in bad shape, you’ll regenerate right away, so no need to worry. As long as you don’t die, you’re good.
The Dungeon Zones are… well, dungeons. I don’t know exactly how many dungeons are on each floor, but when you accept a mission, you get randomly teleported to one based on the difficulty you picked during the tutorial and the floor mission difficulty. Then you just have to complete the mission you receive there. Most of the time it’s a monster-hunting mission. Clear the mission and you clear the floor. The next floor opens up.
If you have any questions, drop them in the comments ㄱㄱ
Right now I was standing in the dungeon zone on the first floor of the Tower of Trials. Specifically, in the middle of a wide-open desert.
“...”
A sandstorm whipped across my face, stinging the inside of my nose. The blazing sunlight felt hot enough to roast my delicate skin. Sweat poured off me like rain.
“…”
My gaze settled on the two men standing in front of me. They looked to be in their late twenties—definitely old enough to be called uncles. After all, once a guy finishes military service, he’s basically an uncle. Although, since they’re awakened, maybe they never had to serve.
“Hmm…”
The gear they wore was all high-end stuff you could only get around the 20th floor. Equipment that would easily fetch over a billion won at auction. Because of the strict equip requirements, total beginners couldn’t wear them even if they had the money. In other words, these two were bus drivers who had descended to carry a newbie.
So who was the passenger?
My eyes shifted to the boy trembling beside me. He was looking around the open plain with a face full of fear. It had to be him.
I spoke to the boy carefully.
“…Hey, how old are you?”
The boy pointed at himself, tilted his head, and stared at me with bright, sparkling eyes.
“Me…?”
“Who else is here besides you?”
“Well… the people from the Cheonhwa Guild are here too…”
“...”
Oh, these guys were from Cheonhwa Guild? …Good thing I wore the mask.
I reached out carefully to the boy, who had social skills and communication ability that could rival the Gallery itself, and asked again.
“How old are you, friend?”
“I’m… seventeen…”
“Seventeen… You’re young.”
I was jealous. Must be nice. Awakening at that age, joining a guild, and getting actual bus drivers assigned to you? His talent must be off the charts. His school friends were probably insanely envious, and even kids who weren’t close to him before would probably come running to act all buddy-buddy.
But… I wasn’t actually that jealous.
Because I was an officially recognized S-rank beauty from the Association.
“Yeah. Let’s just sit here quietly and ride the bus.”
That way I’d get EXP, and I’d get the skill book as a quest reward. Win-win, right?
And then, the next moment.
The 1st Floor Breakthrough Mission is beginning.
Mission Objective: Survive for 10 minutes.
Difficulty: Hard
The two men in front of me each pulled weapons out of their inventories.
“…Let’s finish this quick so I can go home.”
“We’re only going up to the third floor today anyway. Let’s wrap it up fast.”
One man held two swords. The other gripped a massive spear longer than a person’s height with both hands. The aura radiating from them as they held their weapons was truly impressive.
I burned their stances into my eyes.
Heavenly Martial Body has been activated.
The basics of swordsmanship and spearmanship. Information on exactly which stances to use and where to apply force flooded into my mind as pure understanding.
Acquired skill: Spear Technique Training
Sword Technique Training level has increased.
“Whoa…”
Just like during the rank test… legendary-grade skills really are broken. Heavenly Martial Body might be especially broken among them, but still…
“...”
Rumble rumble—
My sharpened senses picked up a tremor in the air. Next came the sound of the ground shaking.
The two men, sensing something was off, glanced at each other and muttered in low voices.
“…Something feels wrong.”
“Do orcs even spawn on the first floor?”
“No way. They don’t show up until past the mid-20s.”
“What the hell is…”
Due to external intervention, the difficulty has been changed.
Difficulty increased from Hard to Extreme.
“…Extreme?”
“What kind of bullshit is this…!”
Rumble rumble rumble—
A cloud of dust rose from beyond the horizon. From within it, ten green monsters came charging forward.
Green monsters over three meters tall, their bodies packed with muscle and sporting massively developed lower tusks. Each one held a sword, axe, or hammer in one hand… They were the monsters people called orcs.
The two men looked at each other and exchanged words.
“…How many can you handle?”
“I can take three at once. Any more than that is impossible.”
“Two is my limit… Why the hell are orcs on the first floor…”
The orcs were charging at terrifying speed. They reached the group in less than a minute.
One orc swung its hammer. A man’s sword clashed against it, sending sparks flying.
Clang—!
“Kweeeek—!”
The orc let out a bizarre cry as it was pushed back, unable to withstand the man’s strength. The swordsman didn’t miss the opening. He dashed toward the orc whose stance had collapsed.
The man kicked off the ground, springing up like a coil, and spun through the air, drawing a silver circle. One orc was sliced clean in half at the chest and sent flying.
But…
“…Huh?”
The swordsman never saw the shadow falling over his head.
A heavy steel hammer dropped toward his waist, following the pull of gravity. The orcs weren’t alone. His colleague was currently surrounded by four orcs and fighting desperately.
Crack—!
“Aaaaaaaaagh!”
A terrible scream burst from the swordsman’s mouth. Struck squarely in the back by the hammer, his spine had probably been shattered. As he lay motionless on the ground…
“Kweeeek…”
Another orc snorted and raised its sword. The blade came swinging down toward his neck.
“…They said they’d bus me.”
How ridiculous. I’m definitely spreading this on the Gallery later. Saying the Cheonhwa Guild is only this good. If Mom sees it, she’ll probably die laughing.
“Haa.”
The scene of the charge he’d just used flashed through my mind, but I couldn’t copy it exactly. Even if I took one down, I wouldn’t be able to withstand the follow-up attacks and would end up like the guy on the ground.
So instead…
“Switch from offense to defense…”
Unique Ability, Heavenly Shattering Star Sword, has been activated.
Starlight brushed across my fingertips. Maybe because it was daytime, the power I felt from the starlight was noticeably weaker… but it was still enough.
Sword Technique Training Lv.2 has been activated.
Beautiful and graceful. A sword that never falters no matter the situation, always containing brilliant and lethal light within it. That must be the path a Sword Princess should pursue.
Tap—!
I kicked off the ground softly yet firmly, leaping between the orc and the fallen man. The moment I met the orc’s eyes, I swung the starlight brush in my hand, drawing a single multicolored line through the air.
Shukak—!
“…?”
The orc’s arm that had been swinging down at the man flew into the air. From behind my mask, I smiled at the fallen man.
“Is this difficult for you?”
“...”
“Just stay still.”
Wearing the mask was such a good decision. No one could see my expression right now. I couldn’t just show this face filled with ecstasy to others.
“Kweeeik..!”
One of the orcs snorted and charged at me. It became the signal for all the orcs to rush me at once.
I murmured quietly toward the green monsters rushing at me.
“I told you to stay still.”
Heavenly Martial Body has been activated at maximum power.
I could instinctively feel how their bones and muscles moved, every tiny motion. If so, I could also read their attacks.
In that instant, I saw red lines covering me. The lines stretched from the weapons the orcs held, aiming at all my vital points. Heart, head, neck. I instinctively knew those were the trajectories of their attacks.
If the trajectories were this clear, avoiding them wasn’t hard at all. Just one step to the side and I could completely escape the red lines.
So that’s what I did.
The next moment.
Thud thud thud—!
All kinds of hammers, blades, and spears rained down exactly where I had been standing. The ground split open and sand exploded upward from the impact. Naturally, none of them hit me.
“Huk…”
When I glanced back, the boy was staring at me with eyes full of disbelief.
…Did I look cool just now?
Thinking that, I turned my gaze back to the enemies. Right now their weapons were having passionate skinship with the ground.
Boom—!
Crack—!
The trajectory of starlight shattered their spear shafts and split their blades. The large, heavy hammer broke apart, its fragments scattering everywhere.
The Constellation, ‘God of Hammer and Flame’ is attempting to craft a sword to contain your power.
The Constellation, ‘Seeker of the Sword’ is watching you.
As the Constellations showed interest in me, the multicolored Heavenly Shattering Star Sword in my hand radiated even more brilliant light. The stronger the interest the Constellations showed, the stronger my power became.
No matter how I thought about it…
“…This ability really suits me perfectly.”
I dodged every attack I could see and struck every opening I spotted. The talent granted by Heavenly Martial Body guaranteed my evasion, while Heavenly Shattering Star Sword tore through the orcs’ thick hides.
How long had it been?
“…Haa.”
Before I knew it, the last orc had turned into ashes and scattered away.