Tower Entry
“… Yawn….”
I woke up and scratched my head. pGT>Then I looked down at the weight I felt in my belly. pGT>Books and a sword were stacked on my belly, and they were sleeping soundly.
I had felt the belly area was a bit heavy, but I guess I fell asleep while looking at the books. pGT>I pushed the sword and books beside me to the side and stretched my body. pGT>I opened the fridge to look for something simple to eat… um, ah. pGT>“Tsk, what’s this.” pGT>Why does the lettuce that came from the delivery taste so delicious? pGT>Since there was nothing else to eat with it after ordering, I had shoved it into the corner of the fridge, but today it looked especially tasty. pGT>I swallowed the saliva gathering in my mouth. pGT>And without realizing, I pulled out the lettuce and started nibbling. pGT>“Mmm… What? The lettuce is this tasty?” pGT>It wasn’t my imagination. pGT>The lettuce melted smoothly in my mouth. pGT>It felt like I was eating cotton candy. pGT>Regret filled me as the lettuce disappeared down my throat. pGT>I hadn’t really tasted it properly… already? pGT>I wanted something more to eat. pGT>But there was nothing else visible in the fridge. pGT>The lettuce alone was enough to fill my stomach. pGT>“I guess I should head out.” pGT>I might as well have awakened, but living like this forever… I guess.
I was curious how far I could climb if I could do it. pGT>I didn’t know if I was strong, but I didn’t feel weak at all. pGT>Somehow, I had this unexplained confidence. pGT>But how do I enter the tower? pGT>There was a tower in the world. pGT>However, no one could approach it. pGT>It was a mirage visible to the eyes but unreachable. pGT>If I opened the window in this one-room apartment, I could see the tower. pGT>But it was a mirage. pGT>Every certain period, hunters entered and climbed without monsters spawning… pGT>It was strange, but resources had improved since the tower appeared. pGT>It wasn’t necessarily bad. pGT>“Ah, it was probably written in the book.” pGT>I remembered it being written in the book I received yesterday. pGT>I had fallen asleep while reading it, so I hadn’t remembered properly. pGT>Was it strange that nothing basic was written in a book meant to teach fundamentals? pGT>I picked up the book I had left beside the bed and slowly turned the pages. pGT>Letters, and more letters. pGT>Numerous letters were densely packed, like bugs crawling across the page. pGT>Since I wasn’t close to books, my head was getting dizzy just looking. pGT>Still, I could find the information I wanted without turning many pages. pGT>“… So how do you enter the tower? Just say tower entrance?” pGT>[First to enter the tower. pGT>Please select difficulty. pGT>[Easy / Normal / Hard / Extreme] pGT>I looked at the difficulty choices floating in front of me. pGT>I thought about which one to pick. pGT>Tower difficulty could not be changed once selected. pGT>It only went up to Hard at maximum… pGT>Wait, only up to Hard? pGT>But in my view, the tower had difficulties higher than Hard. pGT>The book clearly had no mention of anything after Hard… pGT>“Why? Is it something new? pGT>But if so, it would be well-known enough that I should know. pGT>The tower and hunters had become so integrated into daily life these days. pGT>I would have known if such a story existed. pGT>So it must be something only for me, or someone hid it… pGT>And what came out for me was… pGT>“That I can do it.” pGT>If it was impossible, it wouldn’t have appeared. pGT>Even if impossible, since it glowed more brightly than other difficulties, I couldn’t not choose it. pGT>That light seemed to lure me. pGT>I kept staring at the light. pGT>And without realizing, I reached out and touched the Extreme difficulty with my hand. pGT>[Selected Extreme difficulty. pGT>[Moving to Floor 1.] pGT>“Ah?” pGT>Damn… Did the bug-like eyes react to the light? pGT>* pGT>“Ah… so this is inside the tower?” pGT>Since I had already selected it by accident, it was impossible to change. pGT>After all, I had already entered the tower. pGT>I looked around and examined the inside of the tower. pGT>I thought it would be a tightly enclosed place called a tower. pGT>But it wasn’t. pGT>A vast sky spread out over a forest. pGT>I was standing somewhere in that forest. pGT>Along with the refreshing air I hadn’t felt in a long time, my body felt healthier. pGT>I checked the system message that appeared before my eyes. pGT>[Floor 1 (Extreme) Tower Mission] pGT>- Defeat all threats in the forest. (0 / 10) pGT>- Defeat within time limit. (00:05 / 05:00) pGT>“So the mission is like this? Defeat all threats… intuitive and easy? Huh?” pGT>I saw the timer steadily rising. pGT>Next to it was the time limit written… pGT>I could instinctively tell that something bad would happen when that filled up. pGT>With no time to waste, I had to move quickly. pGT>Was this Extreme difficulty? pGT>Since I didn’t know about previous towers, I couldn’t tell if this was hard or not. pGT>“… But what are the threats?” pGT>I thought it wasn’t right to be told to find threats without any guidance. pGT>Was the tower this unreasonable? pGT>I hadn’t seen anything like that before. pGT>When I looked around to see what the threat was, I felt something moving on my wrist. pGT>Regardless of when it started, I looked in the direction the sword was looking. pGT>The sword, which had its head raised while wrapping around my wrist, was looking. pGT>“What’s there?” pGT>The sword shook its body as if confirming my question. pGT>Since I had to find it anyway, I decided to trust it. pGT>I might have a bug-like sense that I couldn’t feel. pGT>I slowly walked toward where the sword was looking. pGT>I heard rustling sounds. pGT>When I stopped and looked beyond the bushes, I saw green-skinned monsters. pGT>That looked exactly like… yeah, goblins. pGT>It was the goblin shape I had seen in creations and news. pGT>The difference was they were wearing armor. pGT>This was the first time I saw goblins in armor. pGT>I didn’t know if goblins normally wore armor… pGT>They were looking around while holding a sword and shield as if they were knights. pGT>It looked suspicious. pGT>They were clearly the forest threats. pGT>But could I handle them? pGT>They looked sturdy in armor. pGT>Could I break through that? pGT>I looked at the sword spinning around on my wrist. pGT>“Why?” pGT>SWISH- pGT>Like trusting me, the sword fixed its body into the sword shape I had first set. pGT>I laughed. pGT>It was a weird experience to be worried about by a bug. pGT>But because of the sword’s action, my worry had disappeared completely. pGT>It wasn’t the time to think if I could do it. pGT>I didn’t know what would happen when time ran out. pGT>“I can do it. pGT>Right?” pGT>GRIND- pGT>With the sword looking like it was answering, I laughed again. pGT>I stroked the sword and slowly headed toward the goblins. pGT>The armor looked sturdy. pGT>I didn’t feel like I couldn’t break through it. pGT>I gripped the sword strongly. pGT>And slowly spread the chitin over my hands and arms. pGT>I wanted to spread it over my whole body. pGT>But something was lacking. pGT>I could only cover one arm. pGT>When could I cover everything? pGT>“Keerk? Human?” pGT>“Oh… it speaks?” pGT>I had thought goblins were stupid monsters. pGT>But the goblins in front of me didn’t seem that way. pGT>As soon as they saw me, they took combat stance. pGT>I slowly took a deep breath and got into position. pGT>I hadn’t fought before… pGT>“You look weak?” pGT>“KEERK! Everyone hold up your shields!” pGT>I saw the goblin giving orders and rushed forward, swinging my sword. pGT>CLANG! pGT>A deep dent appeared on the shield the goblin was holding. pGT>I was amazed by the sword’s cutting power and hardness. pGT>It was stronger than I thought. pGT>Then I should be bolder. pGT>CHANG! CLANG! pGT>Every time my sword and the shield clashed, the shield was shaved off. pGT>I swung it faster, lighter, and more agile. pGT>Surprisingly, I liked the feel of my hand. pGT>It was a sensation to keep swinging. pGT>At that moment, a goblin’s sword pierced from the right. pGT>I switched my sword to my left hand. pGT>And grabbed it with my right. pGT>CRACK! pGT>The hand covered in chitin couldn’t withstand the force. pGT>The sword broke. pGT>I was surprised too. pGT>I hadn’t expected that… but then. pGT>“Isn’t it just piercing?” pGT>I swung my fist at the defenseless goblin. pGT>Its head flew off and it fell in place. pGT>Surprisingly strong power. pGT>What happened to the arm covered in chitin? pGT>[Floor 1 (Extreme) Tower Mission] pGT>- Defeat all threats in the forest. (1 / 10) pGT>- Defeat within time limit. (02:35 / 05:00) pGT>“Oh, one up? pGT>Then… the rest are yours?” pGT>I brushed my hands. pGT>I looked at the remaining goblins. pGT>Something felt like I was doing a bad role. pGT>Well, maybe I attacked goblins who were living normally in the tower… pGT>Still, it was better that the tower was bad than me. pGT>I slowly moved my body. pGT>The remaining time was about two minutes. pGT>I should move faster. pGT>Otherwise, if I got scared and failed the mission? pGT>“I’m sorry, but I have no choice. pGT>The world is like that anyway?” pGT>I smiled at the goblins. pGT>Some goblins fainted in place. pGT>I couldn’t understand why. pGT>Isn’t my smile pretty? pGT>Look in the mirror. pGT>But I was more relaxed. pGT>I attacked the goblins without worry. pGT>I just felt bad. pGT>Ah, no.