Chapter 267
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 267
Chapter Title: First Exam
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The tavern was, of course, the standard inn-attached tavern.
I sat at an empty table, slowly picking at some snacks and drinks alone while scanning the surroundings.
Finding someone who looked like they knew a ton about the tower at a glance was tough, so I tuned my ears to the conversations around me.
"You know that time someone almost died to Guloos on the 37th floor, right?"
"Pfft! Haha! Not even a scrub would get done in by Guloos?"
"I heard the Black Darkness crew's been rampaging again lately?"
"Tsk tsk... Half-baked fools who can't grasp their place just causing chaos..."
Countless conversations flew back and forth, full of tower details I couldn't quite follow yet.
Luckily, almost everyone here seemed well-versed in the tower.
And the ones I chose among them were...
"Hey..."
"Yeah?"
As I approached and spoke up, the group of burly, rough-looking middle-aged men glared at me menacingly.
From eavesdropping on their chat, these guys were blacksmiths.
Blacksmiths like them were more likely than other climbers to know exactly the info I wanted.
"New face, huh? What's your sudden business with us?"
I must've looked suspicious showing up out of nowhere, because the uncles were on high alert.
To them, I flashed a dumb grin and offered to buy drinks.
"Kuhahaha! You the fresh chick who just rolled in today? Sorry for scaring ya! Krahat hahaha!!"
"No worries."
One slapped my back hard with his palm and let out a hearty laugh.
"Alright, you're buying drinks, so no reason to hold back. What do ya wanna know, chickie?"
They seemed ready to spill on anything, so I fired off all the questions I'd prepared.
First up: the basics of climbing the tower.
"Huh? Even non-climbers know that."
"Got my reasons, ahaha..."
"What, holed up deep in some cave for training or somethin'? Anyway, head to the black pillar like for the climber exam, pass the manager's test, and you're good."
"Every floor like that?"
"Obvious question there."
So I had to take an exam every time I went up?
Exams didn't worry me, but they'd be a hassle.
"No way to climb the whole tower at once?"
"As if this tower'd have somethin' like that."
Blacksmith Uncle No.1 shook his head like it was ridiculous.
But apparently, descending the tower could be done in one go, unlike climbing.
What an unfriendly tower.
If only they made exams that let you blast up ten floors at a time on the way up.
Anyway, beyond that: ways to make money in the tower, the highest floor climbers had reached so far, various hazards, exam tips, and more.
Once I got what I needed, I slipped away from the drunken uncles rambling about useless, uninteresting trivia.
"How much did they drink..."
I thought the gold coins would go far...
But in this tower, gold didn't hold the value I knew.
After buying drinks for the blacksmith uncles and paying for a night at the inn, almost nothing was left.
Tomorrow, I'd be sleeping on the streets.
But money was just something you earned, no big deal.
The real issue was the exams...
You could challenge them anytime during daylight hours before evening, but...
Tower climbing exams could only be taken once every two days, pass or fail.
It was a rule to prevent climbers from messing up their condition or getting cocky.
"Haaa..."
Of course, I'd be the one suffering for it.
The top floor with Yul was the 100th, they said.
Even taking exams non-stop every two days would take a solid 200 days.
And no guarantee an exam ended in a day.
If it was something like "Survive a week in a monster-infested zone!", it'd drag even longer than 200 days.
"Ughhh..."
Just thinking about it made my head spin.
I already missed my wives and kids so bad it hurt like dying.
Heard some folks even offed themselves from homesickness...
Could be me.
Sigh... No point overthinking. Just crash hard, ace tomorrow's exam, and climb.
I flopped onto the inn bed, closed my eyes to sleep.
A lonely bed without a woman beside me for the first time in ages.
Thinking I'd endure this every night for a while made me want to cry, up and down.
"Hm..."
Fewer people taking the exam than I thought?
I got up early morning, headed to the black pillar for the tower climb, but surprisingly few folks around.
Not as packed as the first floor, but after seeing the colosseum crowds, I figured more would show.
Or maybe challenging the exam this early on the second floor made us the weirdos?
Anyway, about thirty guys milled around, eyeing each other warily while waiting.
As we waited, light poured out, and like on the first floor, an angel popped up.
"All examinees, please place your hands on the pillar."
One by one, we touched the black pillar as instructed and moved.
I did the same, and beyond the black pillar was...
A white... room?
We arrived in a space filled with nothing but white emptiness.
Other climbers looked pretty thrown off too, figuring this was for the tower-climbing exam.
"Ahem! Welcome, everyone."
"...!!!"
A young boy appeared out of nowhere where nothing had been.
He wore a mismatched suit with a red bowtie, tipped his hat, and bowed politely.
"I'm Shu, manager of the second floor. You're all here for the exam to reach the third floor, right?"
The climbers nodded dumbly at the bright-voiced kid introducing himself as the second-floor manager.
"You all seem thrown off by my looks~? Looks can be deceiving; I'm older than I seem, so no kid treatment, please!"
Don't treat me like a kid, he says in full kid-speak?
Me included, most climbers shot him baffled looks.
Shu plopped his big hat back on, grinned, and said,
"Cut to the chase—shall we start the exam?"
Faces that had been baffled snapped serious at his words.
"The exam content is...!! Dum dum duuuuum...!"
He mimed drumming, making drum sounds with his mouth.
Pure kid behavior.
But even with the childish act, folks were tense about what the exam might be—sweat beading on some brows.
"Dum dum duuuuuum... Nothing!"
"...Nothing...?"
The shocking declaration that the exam was "nothing" instantly stirred chaos.
Including me.
What the hell's this kid saying?
As my head filled with that, Shu continued,
"Just stay in this room doing absolutely nothing for 24 hours, and you pass right away!"
"That's the exam? Just that simple...?"
"For real...?"
"Yep! Why would a manager lie?"
Climbers gawked, unable to believe the easy test.
Shu beamed at them, then clapped like he'd remembered something.
"Oh! One more thing! To be extra nice to newbie climbers, my exam lets you forfeit by yelling 'Forfeit!' loud and clear, and you'll be sent outside!"
No climber reacted.
They just stared at Shu with eyes screaming, Who'd forfeit a 24-hour idle test, you idiot?
Ignoring the stares, Shu grinned,
"Good luck, everyone!"
He waved and vanished smoothly.
The moment Shu disappeared, a timer appeared in the air, counting down second by second.
Nice touch letting us know the time. Friendly manager.
I let out a massive yawn and flopped straight onto the floor.
I was confident I could win even lying down if anyone rushed me, so why not?
"Mm..."
"Huuu..."
Seeing me, others started settling in one by one.
Not sprawling out like me, but clearly planning to rest and endure the 24 hours.
About an hour after the exam started.
Just 23 more hours, and we'd all pass easy.
But even in a simple test like this, show-offs always showed up.
"Hey, you. Wanna chat with me?"
Three noisy guys from the rowdy bunch in the quiet room stood and approached a red-haired woman sitting silently.
She glanced briefly at the trio, then ignored them to wrap bandages around her fist.
"Right... You bitch looked down on us like we were dog shit earlier, huh?"
The bald guy in the middle's face twisted red with rage—I guess they'd clashed before entering.
"How'd you know? Can you read minds or something?"
"You, you fucking...!!"
"Perfect timing."
The bald guy charged at the redhead, face like he was about to lose it.
"You came right to me to get beat."
She clenched her fully bandaged fist...
Thwack-
"Guhk...!!"
And slammed it home.
The leader wannabe flew back and crumpled from one punch.
"Wh-what the hell!"
"Shut up and come at me."
She grinned fiercely and dropped the other two as well.
Not just knocking them out...
"F-for... Guh... Forfeit!!!!"
She beat them until all three yelled forfeit, forcing them out of the exam.
Her bandaged fist was soaked blood-red now.
It matched her red hair perfectly.
"Next."
Next...?
All eyes locked on the redhead as she muttered the baffling word.
With a casual flick of her hand, face unchanged,
"I'll take the room solo, so all of you come at me."
She'd just challenged everyone.