The First Tower Climb (2)
Once more we set out toward the tower, and before long we reached a forest choked with withered old trees—the entrance, in a sense, to the mountain that held it.
Compared to when I had come here with Uncle before, the desolation had already crept well beyond the forest’s edge. Even the weeds underfoot had yellowed and dried to husks.
"So, before we go in—does anyone actually have a plan?"
I looked between the two of them as I asked. Both shook their heads.
"You said a Giant Orc showed up here last time, right?"
Kang Hyeonseok rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"That’s right. It appeared right where Uncle and the people from Mokdong had set up their temporary camp.
I’ll be honest—that bothers me. I’ve never cleared a tower myself, but from what I looked into and from what Uncle Dusik told me…
There’s no way that thing appeared naturally."
This wasn’t idle speculation. It was instinct honed during my time as an Inquisitor, serving as the Apostle of Partruna in Maderona. Most phenomena that simply “shouldn’t happen” turned out to have someone’s hand behind them. That was why I could speak with such certainty.
At my firm words the two exchanged a glance.
"I agree with our little fox. A Medium Grade orc coming out of a tower that just appeared? That doesn’t make any sense."
"What do we do, then? Scout it first?"
"Sounds good to me."
I stared at them, completely failing to understand how anyone planned to search a forest this vast. Kang Hyeonseok must have felt my gaze, because he smiled.
"My ability is wind. I can spread it thin and sense things well enough."
"You can do that?"
"Hyeonseok’s a Returner. He’s different from an Awakened like me."
"A Returner…? Wait—seriously?!"
"Huh, did I never mention it? Yeah, I’m a Returner. The world I was reborn into was full of heroes with powers."
Kang Hyeonseok is a Returner too? Somehow that makes me feel a little closer to him.
I stepped toward him without thinking.
"Really? That’s a pretty interesting story. Will you tell me about it later?"
Honestly—how was any guy supposed to ignore tales of a world full of heroes? It was the kind of place you couldn’t help but admire… or want to visit yourself.
"Sure. I’ll tell you later. So for now, could you give me a little space?"
"Huh? Ah—sorry."
I must have gotten too close in my excitement. The moment I stepped back, Yeonseo—who had somehow appeared behind me without a sound—wrapped her arms around me from behind.
"Even if you’re not self-aware, you still have to be careful. The other person might get the wrong idea, our little fox."
"What? Hey! That’s not what this is!"
My protest did nothing. Yeonseo kept playfully pinching my cheek while looking over at Kang Hyeonseok.
"You can start whenever."
"Alright. Stay back a bit, just in case."
Still holding me, Yeonseo moved us over beside a nearby tree. Kang Hyeonseok’s hair and coat stirred as a gentle breeze rose, slipped past the two of us, and spread outward in a wide, thinning sheet.
Some time later he quietly opened his eyes and walked over.
"No Giant Orcs nearby, at least. If the tower really produced them, there ought to be more.
Plenty of goblins, though. Probably because the tower’s still so new."
Yeonseo drew a book from her coat.
"Then all that’s left is to push through. If the surrounding monsters are only goblins, we can clear them quickly."
"Right. I’ll leave that to you."
As soon as he finished, Yeonseo drew on her mana. The book opened of its own accord.
"Summon! Marinarion."
Pages fluttered in a whirl of light, and three pale-blue lions of ice took shape before us.
"Alright—hop on, quickly."
"Whoa, we can ride these? Aren’t they freezing?"
"Surprisingly not that cold. Just get on."
I climbed up as told. She was right—it wasn’t cold at all. If anything, the coolness felt refreshing.
Riding the lions Yeonseo had summoned, we raced onward until the tower finally came into view. Kang Hyeonseok, who had been leading, reined in first.
"From here on we fight. There are seriously a lot of them."
I drew up beside him and looked ahead—and felt a genuine chill crawl down my spine.
It was exactly like those comic panels that simply write “swarming” across the page. The scene before us was a green sea, but not the pleasant kind made of leaves. It was murky, and the occasional yellow eyes staring out of it made the whole mass feel repulsive.
"There really are a ton. Do we have to wipe them all out? Can’t we just make a straight run for the tower?"
Yeonseo stroked the neck of her lion as she answered.
"It’s not that simple. The entrance is blocked on purpose—to stop anyone from skipping the fight and heading straight in."
"Seriously? Haah… how long is this going to take…"
"Haha, what choice do we have? Still, with me, Yeonseo, and Charlotte here, we should finish them off pretty fast."
His words somehow lifted my mood.
"Yeah? Tsk—fine. Let’s clear them quickly, then.
We still need to meet up with Uncle Dusik."
"I’ll take the center. Yeonseo, Charlotte—you take the flanks."
"Got it."
"Okay."
And with that we charged straight into the goblins thronging around the tower.
Yeonseo and I had cleared towers together more than a few times, and we’d picked up plenty of combat experience running commissions all over. Well—I’d been fighting since my previous world, too.
So I’d always thought that, compared to other ability users our age, our technique and judgment were pretty solid.
Right now I held the center while Yeonseo took the left and Charlotte the right, cutting down goblins as we went.
Honestly, even knowing Charlotte was strong, I’d expected her to lag a little behind us.
No need to worry after all. If anything, she’s more polished than we are.
She touched something at her throat, and a cloak and armor seemed to settle over her. The armor was a silver-white metal that carried a distinctly sacred light. The cloak blazed and streamed behind her as though woven from living flame.
Then she drew a sword. Fire coiled around the blade; the body of the weapon turned deep red, the edge a brilliant yellow. Without another word she plunged into the goblins.
Every swing of Charlotte’s sword sent heads and necks flying. The sharp smell of scorched flesh rose on the air.
After cutting down a sizable number she paused, smiling softly as though her body had finally warmed up. Countless sparks bloomed around her, and in the next breath those sparks shaped themselves into swords that began to orbit her.
Haha! Try this on for size!
She shouted as she charged, looking for all the world like a knight straight out of a novel. The flame swords around her shot outward, exploding and setting goblins ablaze—yet the grass never caught. Only the monsters burned.
"Not bad at all. I can’t fall behind."
Watching Charlotte and Yeonseo tear through the horde lit a competitive fire in me. I decided to push a little harder and finish this quickly.
Some time after the fighting began I glanced around and saw that the goblins were nearly wiped out. Figuring I could ease off the pace a little, I checked on Yeonseo and Kang Hyeonseok. Both of them were holding their own just fine.
"So the stories about them clearing towers were true after all."
Yeonseo had brought out the three lions from earlier plus two bears, and was watching from the rear at a leisurely pace. Whenever anything came near her she simply smashed its skull with a hammer of ice.
Wow. She seems so soft-spoken, yet there’s something unreadable about her… so of course she’s the type who just crushes heads with a hammer.
In every novel or comic I’d ever read, ice users always threw spears. I’d assumed Yeonseo would be the same. Even now, when I felt we were fairly close, I still couldn’t quite predict her. I never expected the giant ice hammer.
Kang Hyeonseok, by contrast, moved with a smooth, almost elegant economy. Given that he was a Returner, he almost certainly had real combat experience—that was why every motion looked so efficient.
At the very least, he knows exactly how to move for maximum effect.
He crushed goblins with compressed wind or shot it out in razor-sharp blades, dropping them one after another.
Leaving the two of them behind, I refocused and threw myself back into the fight properly.
I shaped flames from Holy Fire, then forged them into swords—this time fighting without relying on explosions. Charging the goblins, I sent flame blades flying at anything that approached from the sides or rear, spinning them so they sheared bodies cleanly in two, or shrinking them and driving them into feet to pin the creatures in place.
I swung and hurled in a blur until no more goblins remained in sight.
"Phew… that should be all of them. They were just wandering out in the open instead of nesting in caves or a labyrinth, so it was easier than I expected."
Yeonseo and Kang Hyeonseok looked finished as well. Together we headed for the tower’s entrance.
"Both of you ready?"
Kang Hyeonseok looked at Yeonseo and me as he brought his hand near the stone monument standing before the tower’s entrance.
"Whenever you are. Let’s finish this quick so we can go look for that kid Ara."
"Yeah. Ready."
The moment he touched the monument, the transparent barrier sealing the entrance shattered. Light spilled through the newly opened gap, and the forest around us gave way to the tower’s interior: walls carved with strange, intricate patterns; torches instead of electric lights; and, ahead of us, a massive wooden door leading deeper inside.