Clearing the First Floor

"Take care now!"

"Yes, thank you!"

With the courier who had hauled in his starter equipment gone, Dohyeon set about fitting the gear on, piece by piece.

Floors one through five made up the tutorial, and the opponents there were goblins. Fortunately for novices who had only just begun their ascent, goblins were monsters whose build fell far short of a grown adult's, so nothing in the way of grand weaponry was required: a club of a size and weight comfortable to swing one-handed, a shield serviceable enough, leather armor guarding the body here and there, and clothes to wear beneath it all. Every piece had been crafted by production-type Climbers from byproducts that came out of the Tower.

Dohyeon stripped off everything down to his underwear and donned the equipment one item at a time, feeling the coarse texture of the cloth against his skin.

"Can't be helped. Nothing that didn't come out of the Tower can be brought inside. And high-quality cotton and the like is far too labor-intensive for production Climbers to bother with."

Thread and other byproducts that could serve as raw material were hard enough to come by from the Tower in the first place, and even once obtained, turning them into cloth devoured enormous amounts of time. That was why the garments in starter sets were usually stitched together from the ragged hides monsters wore. That they felt rough against the skin was only to be expected.

"This is nothing, really. They say the first Climbers to enter the Tower fought goblins bare-handed and buck naked."

Dohyeon didn't even want to picture it. Mage-types could at least intercept from a distance, but melee-types must have been through a truly wretched ordeal.

Having dressed with unpracticed hands, Dohyeon opened his status window before getting on with his climb.

"My starting stats are respectable enough."

The average for a grown adult was 5. Given that Mana and Domination—the stats that came into being the moment one awakened as a Climber—started at 5, having Strength, Agility, Vitality, and Spirit all above 5 made him something of a blessed character. Of course, a Climber wasn't a character rolled with dice but a person who had lived as many years as their age, so "blessed" wasn't quite the right way to put it.

Strength encompassed muscular power and durability; Agility, athleticism, nimbleness, and reflexes; Vitality, cardiopulmonary endurance and muscular stamina; and Spirit, mental fortitude and willpower—and beyond those, the capacity to handle surreal things such as mana. The fact that, on the very day of his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠awakening, after a single fainting spell, he had been able to fumble his way toward controlling the mana flowing into Jade Bone Crafting right up to its limit was surely thanks to his above-average Spirit.

"Objectively speaking, I'm more than a match for goblins as I am now. I won't even need my skill."

It wasn't only against goblins that Dohyeon's Strength and Agility were superior—they outstripped those of other grown adults as well. No matter how a goblin of such a lower weight class flew or crawled, it could never be his match. For a goblin to face a strapping man like Dohyeon would feel, to the goblin, like a human squaring off against a bear. Whether the bear had a skill or not, the outcome rarely changed.

If one variable existed, it was that he was a modern man unaccustomed to bloody, brutal fights. That goblins, meanwhile, were monsters thoroughly versed in stabbing, gouging, and quenching their thirst with blood. A few televised mixed martial arts matches would hardly suffice to inure anyone to a goblin's ferocity.

But he had a reason to fight with his life on the line. To restore Goldie, whole and complete. With his resolve steeled, Dohyeon made to enter the Tower.

"No, wait. Goldie didn't come out of the Tower, though. Does that mean he can't come in with me?"

A question that had occurred to him out of the blue. A reasonable one, nonetheless.

"Might as well test it this time around. Anything that can't be brought inside gets left out there anyway."

Dohyeon placed his hand atop Goldie's skull and called out.

"Enter the Tower!"

Goldie's skull and Dohyeon alike vanished without a trace from his studio apartment.

"Goldie! You can come in with me!"

Dohyeon lifted his hand from Goldie's head, now resting atop a patch of grass. Goldie's soul-flame blazed bright and hot as he gazed up at him. Glad as he was that they'd entered together, the fact remained that he now had to fight a goblin. Peeling his gaze off Goldie, where it clung like gum, was no simple task.

The novice Climber hurriedly collected himself, thrust his shield out in front, and swept his eyes over his surroundings.

Krruk!

From some twenty meters away, the goblin had spotted Dohyeon and was in a state of wild excitement. A filthy dagger was clutched in its hand. The trial of the Tower's first floor was a single, solitary goblin.

"Put that one down, and I'm through!"

Worried that Goldie might be caught in the crossfire, Dohyeon moved his feet toward the oncoming goblin.

Wham!

"Ugh!"

Dohyeon sprang backward and barely managed to beat aside the stabbing dagger with his shield, but he couldn't fully overcome the momentum of the charging goblin. The creature, leaping straight into his chest, raked at him wildly with its filthy, sharp claws.

Wham! Wham!

Dohyeon drove his knee up into the frenzied goblin, shoved it away with his shield, then checked over his own condition. Fortunately, his bare skin hadn't taken a hit. The goblin's claws had done no more than gouge lines into his leather armor. And the thing was now staggering off-balance, well within the reach of his club.

Enraged, Dohyeon didn't let his turn slip by. He swung.

"Die!"

Wham! Wham! Wham!

Krek! Krruk!

Dohyeon, worked up to the point his eyes nearly bulged, hammered down with strength formidable even by human standards, and the goblin flailed its short dagger in defiance.

Wham! Wham!

After a merciless clubbing to its elbow and shoulder, the goblin reached the point where it couldn't manage even that. Somewhere around a dozen blows in, it lost consciousness.

Hoo— haah— hoo— haah— hoo—

Dohyeon glared down at the fallen goblin and caught his breath.

"Still no clear message."

It seemed the goblin hadn't been fully finished off. Dohyeon shifted around to the head of the downed creature.

"Hup!"

Crunch!

Holding his breath the way one does when lifting something heavy, Dohyeon brought the club down with all his strength. The goblin's head, caught by the final blow, split open, spilling blood and brains.

Ding!

Above the brains and blood the goblin had spilled, a status window floated, waiting for a name to be entered. Goldie's eyes—just the head, sitting there alone—were fixed on Dohyeon.

"Goldie's... big... brother..."

The moment the single goblin—the first floor's trial—was fully dispatched, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠system prompted him to exit. Dohyeon stowed the goblin's tattered rags and its dagger into the backpack on his shoulders, then gathered Goldie into his arms.

"Just trust your big brother, Goldie. I'll have you running around again in no time."

Even once Goldie revived as a skeleton and could run free to his heart's content, he wouldn't be able to bark the way he used to—and yet to Dohyeon's ears, it was as if Goldie's voice reached him all the same. The eyes of the soul lodged in the jade orbits blazed bright and fierce, gazing at none but Dohyeon.

Riding in the taxi, Dohyeon found himself replaying the affair on the Tower's first floor.

Should I have brought the bones of the goblin I killed out with me, too?

Since Jade Bone Crafting came with a secondary function that reduced everything but bone to dust, he could have gathered them up and carried them out with ease.

"We're here, sir."

The taxi driver announced their arrival. Dohyeon, who had been staring out the window lost in thought, snapped back to his senses.

"Ah—yes. Thank you, driver."

Clunk— click.

Standing on the paved sidewalk, Dohyeon looked upon a building that exuded an almost intimidating presence.

The signboard bore the clean, unostentatious design typical of a public institution, and the building itself was a match for any major corporation's headquarters. He had come to the Seoul Tower Administration Bureau to obtain his Climber's license.

Pushing through the glass doors, he found a civil affairs counter, a number-ticket machine, and rows of waiting chairs—as ordinary as any neighborhood ward office.

"Hmm..."

Not a single other person was present, so his eyes met those of the clerk seated at the counter—but Dohyeon, ever proper, pulled a number ticket all the same.

Ding!

"Right this way, please!"

The clerk who had been watching him called him up straight away.

"What brings you in today?"

Dohyeon held out his ticket and answered.

"I'm here to obtain my Climber's license."

"May I have your ID? And we'll need your fingerprints as well..."

The clerk looked over his ID, tapped away at the keyboard a little, verified his fingerprints, and then handed it back.

"When did you awaken?"

"A fortnight and a day ago."

"So early May, then... And have you been climbing?"

"I cleared the first floor for the first time yesterday."

"And your class—which type is it?"

"I believe it's either Necromancer or a production type. The skill I received at awakening was ambiguous, so I can't say for certain yet."

"Hmm... 'not yet certain'..."

The clerk typed a little more and clicked the mouse a few more times, and a document appeared on the screen facing the visitor.

"This form is a written oath that everything you've just told me is true. Please sign in block letters inside the red circle at the bottom."

Scratch, scratch-scratch.

Cha... Do... hyeon.

The clerk was up and heading outside before Dohyeon had even set the pen down.

"All that's left now is the nickname verification at the Tower lobby, and your license will be issued. Shall we get moving?"

"Ah—yes."

Dohyeon followed the clerk through what could only be called a side door. It led out to an open-air parking lot.

"Please fasten your seatbelt."

"Oh, of course."

A cart of the sort one would only expect to see on a golf course was waiting for them. A short ride later, the two of them arrived at the physical Tower.

Dohyeon stepped off the cart and looked up at it. A mystifying black sheen, considerable height, an unfamiliar architectural style. From a structure that defied the common sense of Earth's people emanated an overwhelming majesty.

"Come on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in."

The clerk walked into the Tower—daunting as it was—like it was their own home. Inside, following along, Dohyeon found the place surprisingly unremarkable: nothing but a lobby with a high ceiling and a single massive stone slab.

Grrrrk...

Even now, the slab was shifting its shape.

"Now, simply touch your own nickname, and every step of the process will be complete."

It was a fact even Dohyeon, who had once worked at a byproduct processing company, knew. When a person touched the nickname inscribed on the physical Tower, a soft glow would rise from it, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠people used this as a means of proving their identity.

My nickname...

Dohyeon found his name at the very end of the roster, which was written in order of points.

A faint light kindled in the engraved stone where Dohyeon's fingertip touched. The clerk worked their tablet.

"Mr. Cha Dohyeon. Your Tower nickname is Goldie's Big Brother... and—yes! All procedures are complete. Shall we head back?"

Dohyeon took one more look at his softly glowing nickname, at the slab's engravings shifting from moment to moment, at the high ceiling of the Tower lobby—and then followed the clerk.

"By the way, I can receive the license by mail, right?"

"Wait just five minutes and it'll be made. It's a small courtesy we extend to Climbers. By the time you've ridden the cart back, it'll be ready."

"Oh. That's rather nice, actually."

The two of them climbed onto the cart and fastened their belts. Dohyeon's head was already full to the brim with a single thought: hurry home, then throw himself at the Tower as fast as he could manage—all to get Goldie back up and running again at the earliest possible moment.