Tutorial — The 7th Floor
The moment I spoke of annihilation, the party was struck silent with shock.
Only then did the danger seem to register. Their expressions changed all at once.
"There really were... so many of them. If they all came pouring in..."
Joo Ha-yeon trembled, unease running through her — perhaps recalling the massive goblin settlement they had seen on the fourth floor.
"Ah — but it might not happen, right? It's only a guess..."
Nam Eun-ju seemed desperate to cling to a more hopeful thought.
"No. No, Eun-ju. I think he's got a point. Think about it. Has a single trial we've faced so far been easy?"
Looking back, not one of them had been. On the first floor, modern people who had never so much as held a weapon were suddenly expected to fight goblins. On the second, wolves had come for them. On the third, the neighboring wall had nearly fallen. The fourth had been the worst — two of them crippled, all of them nearly dead. The fifth had been an easy dungeon, until they ran into an Undead Lizardman out of nowhere. And on the sixth, Johann's scheme had nearly branded them all as criminals.
For everyone but me, the Tower must have felt like hell itself.
The Tower is actually a good place... It's just that Earth's situation is so far gone that the Tower has no choice but to be like this. They need to select the strong. The Tower is a place that heaps tremendous rewards on those with talent and those who put in the work.
Not that I have any right to talk. In my previous life, I thought of the Tower as hell descended upon the living world. Same difference, I suppose.
"So what do we do? Do we just sit here and wait until they attack?"
"If they attack, we hold them off. But think about how many we saw. If they unify every tribe, thousands of goblins will come flooding in... Do you really think this place can stop them?"
To be precise, it was over ten thousand. That I had survived at all was something close to a miracle.
Every citizen of the castle had been fleeing or dying, and I had used them as bait to claw my way out.
If I hadn't awakened my mana with the Elixir of Mana — the reward from the sixth floor — I almost certainly wouldn't have made it.
The thought prompted me to check the elixir.
Upon use, unconditionally increases the Mana stat by 1.
Non-tradable
Unlike other elixirs, there were two optimal ways to use this one.
The first, same as any other elixir, was to take it when the relevant stat sat at 99. The second was to take it when your Mana stat was still at 0.
In my previous life, I had been the second case.
I turned to the party at once.
"Has anyone used their elixir?"
"...No. Our stats have been going up well enough, so I haven't used it."
"Same here. Haven't used mine."
"Me neither, oppa. I haven't used it."
"...Me neither. Ha-yeon unnie said it would be better not to..."
"A wise choice. I've been noticing it myself lately. The higher your stats climb, the greater the variance in how they grow — and recently, they haven't been rising as easily. Best to save them for when they truly stop increasing. However."
I paused, then went on.
"Is there anyone whose Mana stat is still at zero?"
At that, Joo Ha-yeon and Nam Eun-ju raised their hands.
"Then you should use the Elixir of Mana. What levels is everyone at right now?"
"We're at six."
Unlike me, the rest of the party shared the same level. I was at 8 — the gap created by the goblins I had slaughtered during reconnaissance, and by killing the Undead Lizardman alone.
"Having mana versus not having it makes an enormous difference. If you're level 6 and your Mana stat is still sitting at zero... I think it's better to get it to 1 now and raise it through training."
"...You're right. If your prediction holds, this floor is likely to be dangerous. We'll need to start preparing in advance."
"This time, I intend to ask the lord for knight support and go on another reconnaissance."
"What? Why would you—"
"You can't, oppa!"
"I have to go. If the goblins attack the way I expect, it could be truly dangerous. In the worst case... we may have to abandon the castle and survive a month in the forest."
"That's..."
"Which is why you need to raise your Mana stats as quickly as possible. If it comes down to it, I'll go with the knights alone."
"I'll go too! I'm going!"
"...It's dangerous. You don't need to. I'll be fine."
"You're in danger too, oppa! How can we let you go alone?!"
"She's right. I'm against that too. Shin-hoo, you try to carry everything by yourself."
"...I said I wouldn't be alone. We'll have knight support. The lord will agree to it."
"...Alright. I'll use the Elixir of Mana."
When the Na sisters and I had our little clash of opinions, Joo Ha-yeon stepped in to mediate.
"We'll get used to it as quickly as we can, so let's go together. Even with knights, I'm against you going alone."
"...Same here."
Nam Eun-ju didn't seem to feel the same. She probably had no desire to walk into somewhere dangerous.
But she appeared to have decided to follow the majority. Mana was clearly tempting, after all — who wouldn't want it? Still, among the party, Nam Eun-ju was the one who cared most about her own safety.
And I could more or less see what she was thinking. She didn't want to go — but she also didn't want to be separated from me. Fair enough. Given everything I had done, she probably figured that wherever I was, that was the safest place to be.
I nodded and addressed the two of them.
"Then let's start by awakening your mana. Afterward, I'll teach you how to manipulate it."
It probably wouldn't even be necessary. A few tips would be all I needed to give. There was a reason using the Elixir of Mana to go from 0 to 1 ranked among the most efficient methods available.
No matter how lacking your talent, using it this way let you master the fundamentals of mana manipulation perfectly. In my first life, I had taken the Elixir of Mana and been able to use mana immediately — and that was how I had survived.
As far as I knew, this was a trick that wouldn't work outside the Tower.
Of course, once you moved into advanced manipulation and applied techniques, talent and effort became extremely, extremely, extremely important. Talent especially — overwhelmingly so. There were countless cases where effort alone simply wasn't enough. Without a good teacher, the limits of hard work were painfully clear.
Joo Ha-yeon and Nam Eun-ju consumed the Elixir of Mana at once. They closed their eyes for a while, as if meditating, then rose and immediately used mana to reinforce their bodies.
"...So this is mana. It's incredible... Truly remarkable. Even at just 1, it's this powerful... For a moment, it felt like I could nearly double my stats..."
That was true. Their current stats were barely in the teens, after all.
Later on, you experienced even greater amplification rates. Of course, by then you needed far more mana, and as your physical stats rose, you no longer got that same staggering sensation of literally doubling — but the fact remained that mana amplified the body's capabilities.
"Alright then. Let me share a few tips I've picked up while using mana. First, when reinforcing the body..."
I passed on the kinds of pointers they would have figured out naturally through use anyway.
Na-yeon and Na Seoyun already knew this at a basic level.
Even so, for the two who had just awakened, it would be a tremendous help.
After sharing those simple tips, we spent about two days resting thoroughly, unwinding from the stress we had accumulated. I didn't neglect light training, either. The two who had just awakened their mana needed to grow accustomed to using it, and I had the Na sisters join as well so they wouldn't lose their combat instincts. Until recently, they had been ordinary civilians too. A little rest, and you went soft without even realizing it.
During that time, the lord took great care of us. Not just the lord — the soldiers inside the castle, the maids, the servants, even the knights treated us with caution and respect.
The lord's orders played a part, but they themselves seemed quite remorseful.
Apparently some rather ugly rumors had been circulating for a while. Hardly anyone in the castle hadn't cursed our names. Those who had believed in us to the end were now going around bragging about it.
On the third day, I went straight to see the lord.
This wasn't the kind of thing you wanted to put off. In my first life, I remembered the attack coming around the two-week mark. And the castle had fallen in ten days.
Guided by a servant, I made my way to the lord's office.
I knocked.
"What is it?"
"Yoo Shin-hoo has come to see you, my lord."
"Show him in."
We already had an appointment, so I was able to meet him at once.
Inside the office, the elderly butler and the lord were handling paperwork. They seemed to have been in the middle of a report regarding Johann and the other two.
The servant who had guided me bowed to the butler and the lord, then withdrew.
"I hope you've been well."
"Hrm... Honestly, I can't say I have, given that we still haven't found the family heirloom. Speaking of which — is there truly no way to check inside that subspace?"
I offered a wry smile.
"As the contract proved, unfortunately, there isn't. It's a technique we only recently acquired ourselves..."
"I see... Ah, don't take it the wrong way. I only asked on the off chance that, being so newly obtained, you might have discovered some new method. Well then. What was it you wanted to see me about?"
"Ah — I'd like to borrow some of your knights."
"Knights?"
At my request, the lord's face tightened slightly.
It was an impertinent ask. Knights were the core of a lord's military power. Requesting to borrow them in a situation like this... anyone else would have been thoroughly chewed out and thrown from the castle.
"Mmm... As you well know, we're quite busy at the moment, never knowing when the goblins might attack. Our preparations have been lacking because of this whole investigation affair."
Despite my rude request, the lord declined gently, without a harsh word.
"That's precisely why, my lord."
"...What do you mean?"
"Johann made it difficult to prepare this time, didn't he? That's why I'd like to go on another reconnaissance — together with your knights."
"...What?"
The lord set aside what little displeasure remained and looked at me with fresh admiration.
From the lord's perspective, my proposal carried risk — but it was also enormously beneficial.
If I went with them, they could accurately assess the enemy's strength and get a rough idea of when the attack would come. The lord would already have understood how vital that information was; it scarcely needed saying.
But sending soldiers or knights on their own would have been highly dangerous.
The forest was already as good as goblin territory. With manpower already stretched thin, assigning such a perilous mission was no easy call. If I went with them, however, it was a different story.
I was someone who had already completed a reconnaissance once, putting my life on the line — or rather, I was confident I wouldn't die. If an experienced mercenary came along, the odds of a successful reconnaissance would rise dramatically.
From the lord's perspective, this was an offer he wouldn't have dared to ask for. They owed us a debt, and we had already accomplished so much — how could they request another dangerous reconnaissance?
Of course, with the castle's survival at stake, they probably would have treated us lavishly for about ten days, then, shamefaced but with a hide of iron, made the request anyway.
But I had spoken up first. No wonder the lord was grateful.
The elderly butler beside him looked moved as well, his face saying, How could I have ever doubted this man?
"I hear Curse Contracts are exceedingly rare. You used such a precious item for a mere mercenary like myself. Knowing the castle is in danger, I couldn't simply sit back and rest. But our mercenary band alone can't manage a reconnaissance — that's why I'd like knight support."
Even as I said it, I thought it was the perfect excuse.
"...Truly, truly, I thank you. Honestly, I thought we'd have to ask you — I never expected you to come forward yourselves. Haha... Whatever else, I'm almost grateful to that bastard Johann for bringing you here."
The lord's cold demeanor melted away, his face as warm as spring sunlight.
"You wanted to borrow knights, did you? Take as many as you need. I'll compensate you very generously for the commission as well. If you need any supplies, speak to Jules here. We'll provide everything. Please — I beg you — come back alive."
"Leave it to us. We'll do our utmost."
Just as planned.
I smiled brightly.