The Advance Payment

An abrupt question caught me off guard.

"Have you ever thought about properly climbing the tower?"

"Excuse me? The tower?"

Out of nowhere? And more importantly, which one?

"Are you referring to the Tower of Despair? Or do you mean the Tower of Transcendence?"

"Naturally, I am asking whether you intend to challenge the Tower of Transcendence. Is there another tower called the Tower of Despair? What manner of place is that?"

Ah.

So he didn't know about the Tower of Despair. Well, that made sense. That pitch-black spire hadn't exactly been standing since ancient antiquity.

"Hmm..."

Climbing the Tower of Transcendence? And doing it properly?

To be honest, I was definitely tempted, but...

"I think I'm good for now. Even if I do climb it, I'd rather take on the challenge a bit later."

"Why is that? Do you possess a justifiable reason?"

Well, obviously, climbing higher was great if I could manage it.

Selling the Red Stream Spear today had driven that lesson home. The merchandise sold here in the Arcana Market operated on an entirely different dimensional plane compared to the stuff back on Earth. Cassias had dismissed it as substandard junk that was unfit for their shelves, yet it had fetched an eye-watering seven hundred million won at auction. The disparity was absurd.

Of course, there was also that one little incident.

Considering that, seven hundred million probably wasn't its standard market value. Still, Cassias had estimated it would comfortably pull in two hundred million back on Earth. Yet selling it directly to the Arcana Market would yield a measly thousand mana stones—the equivalent of fifty million won. The profit margin was utterly insane.

If I could take items from here and peddle them outside, I could amass a literal mountain of mana stones. It was practically an infinite money glitch. The only snag was what Cassias had told me earlier.

<At the very least, you must prove yourself to a certain degree before you are granted such privileges.>

That was the rule. To earn the right to resell Arcana Market wares in other realms, one needed proper qualifications—which, in this establishment, meant clearing floors in the Tower of Transcendence.

The problem was the nature of the tower itself. Wasn't it originally meant solely for Transcendents and Pre-Transcendents? Meanwhile, what was I?

Sure, I was a proud Climber, but I was neither a Transcendent nor a Pre-Transcendent. In the Tower of Despair, I had barely cleared the tenth floor. I was the freshest newbie among newbies. There was zero reason to push my luck recklessly.

"I'd like to build up my skills a bit more before tackling the next floor."

Sure, I had breezed through the first and second floors, but who knew what horrors awaited on the third? As the old proverb goes, eat in haste and you'll choke. No matter how ravenous you are, you shouldn't just shove whatever's in front of you down your throat.

Besides...

"What...? No, then what about my research? My hypothesis...?"

Just look at that expression. Was that mere curiosity? No, that was the manic glint of sheer scientific madness. When someone looks at you with eyes like that while asking you to jump into danger, how could anyone say yes? You're creeping me out, Professor.

"No, no, you have nothing to fear. The third floor will not prove difficult for you, just as the preceding floors did not."

"Is that so...?"

Odd as he was, Senior Merlin was a supreme Transcendent. A mere third floor was something he had conquered ages ago. If he claimed it was manageable, there was likely truth to it.

"Naturally. Just as before, your very insignificance will exploit the blind spots of the trials prescribed by the tower. That forms the core of my hypothesis, after all."

"Your hypothesis?"

"Indeed, a hypothesis. A theory I formulated upon observing you, drawing from my long-standing research into the Tower of Transcendence."

Ah. So that was what he had been muttering to himself about all yesterday.

"If you scale the tower and provide me with the resulting data, I shall naturally provide fitting compensation in return. Consider this the advance payment on our contract."

An advance payment? Could it be mana stones?!

Ting—

A metallic ring landed gently in my palm.

"It was merely rolling around my laboratory, but it ought to prove quite suitable for your current needs."

Who cared if it had been rolling around on the floor of some dusty lab? A good item was a good item. Given that he was an Archmage, it had to be extraordinary. Let's see what we have here...

"Holy crap."

This insane piece of jewelry had just been rolling around on his floor? I suddenly felt a profound urge to pay a visit to his lab. The options were unbelievable.

Reduced mana consumption, improved concentration, enhanced control stability, and on top of that, a chance to refund spent mana? This was practically on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠par with the Red Stream Spear. A sudden, deep warmth blossomed in my chest.

"I revere you, Senior! In truth, scaling the Tower of Transcendence has been my lifelong dream all along."

Now this was what a real senior looked like! Hey, Senior Cheok! Senior Huang! Are you guys seeing this?

"Oho... A most commendable reaction."

<......>

What are you staring at, Mr. Golem? Get an item like this handed to you for free and see if boundless respect doesn't automatically well up from the bottom of your heart.

"I'll give it everything I've got!"

He was handing out gifts of this caliber before I had even set foot on the floor. I was definitely going to give it my all. Who knew? If I performed well, he might reward me with something even crazier down the line.

"Splendid. Shall we proceed to the third floor at once, then?"

"Oh, absolutely. I'll go right away. Without question. But—"

I held up a hand.

"Just give me a minute. I need to buy a few elixirs before I dive in."

First things first. The entire reason I had come to the Arcana Market today was to buy elixirs.

<Elixirs...? What manner of leftover scraps do you seek this time? How many mana stones do you even possess? A thousand? Five hundred?>

Look at this golem talking down to me. Who does he think he's treating like a level one scrub? I'm loaded now.

I had accumulated this monstrous sum.

Thud—!

"I brought plenty, so fetch me some elixirs, please."

I slammed the pouch down with utmost confidence, but—

<Hmm... You have gathered quite a sum for someone of your stature. With 14,371 stones, you could procure a small stem of a Ten-Thousand-Year Fleeceflower Root similar to what you ingested before.>

Excuse me? Wait, why wasn't he surprised at all?

"A small stem...?"

<Bear in mind that this is the Arcana Market. Fourteen thousand low-grade mana stones amount to a mere fourteen medium-grade stones. It may seem an astronomical sum to you, but in the realm of Transcendents...>

Right. This place catered primarily to gods and immortal beings. What a pity. I had planned to unleash the demanding customer technique I'd mastered during my convenience store clerk days. Did I really need to haul in a million stones? Or perhaps medium-grade ones?

That won't do anytime soon.

I had heard about medium mana stones before. They supposedly started dropping beyond the sixtieth floor of the Tower of Despair. I couldn't reach that depth immediately, but as I steadily climbed, I'd conquer those floors eventually. Just you wait until then, stone face.

Well, whatever. For now...

"I can still buy an elixir with this much, right?"

True enough. Even for a thousand stones, he had provided an elixir with ridiculous potency.

<State what variety you desire. I shall search our inventory.>

Hmm. What stat should I raise to make the most of this investment?

"Magic, without question. Bring elixirs pertaining to mana calibrated to precisely fourteen thousand stones."

Huh?

"Wait a second. This is my elixir, so why are you making the call, Senior Merlin?"

"Because the matter requires no contemplation! From time immemorial, magic has been the ultimate truth and the apex of all things. There is no need to study anything else."

How should I put this? He was undoubtedly a supreme Transcendent like Cheok Jun-gyeong and Huang Zhong, but he possessed the stubborn, unyielding mindset of an absolute academic fanatic.

"Reflect upon it. Weapons are mere tools in the end, whereas magic is pure power born of your very self. Comprehending the foundational laws that govern the cosmos—"

Just listen to him go. The man was hopelessly obsessed with magic and research. Were all mages like this? My appreciation for magic had briefly spiked after receiving that amazing ring, but his rant was about to drag it right back down into the dirt.

"A fragile existence such as yourself possesses infinite possibilities that can only blossom through magic—"

Yeah, okay, I got the point, but...

"I'm planning to raise something other than magic this time around."

I'm not buying it, so take your sales pitch elsewhere.

"How can you turn your back upon the ultimate truth standing right before your eyes?! Boring through a single additional mana circuit is a hundred—nay, a thousand times more efficient than wasting time conditioning mortal flesh!"

This magic-addled madman...

"Senior, if you keep this up, I'm postponing my climb."

"......"

Did I know magic was great? Of course I did. But my magic output wasn't lacking at the moment. Sure, from a Transcendent's viewpoint it was laughable, but whether in the tower or in regular dungeons, every mob died in a single hit. My mana pool had expanded enough to let me cast it eight times in a row. On the other hand...

"My apologies, but my physical stamina is far too weak. I need to reinforce that before anything else."

<Understood. I shall search for remedies along those lines.>

Over the past few days of running dungeons and scaling the tower like clockwork, one harsh reality had struck me: my body was disappointingly frail. What good was hitting the bullseye with every single arrow if my arms started trembling like leaves after firing a few dozen shots? If not for that physical limitation, I could have ground dungeons all day long.

"Phew..."

Research showed that physical stats could gradually increase through continuous conditioning, much like building muscle through consistent exercise. The catch was that it took ages. Who had the patience to wait for that when the Arcana Market existed? If I took an elixir and continued training, it would be a two-for-one combo. Wouldn't that make me stronger far faster?

<Here are the elixirs related to physical aptitude. Choose according to your funds.>

Clang—!

A massive array of items materialized before me.

Whoa, look at this selection. Having a decent stash of mana stones really made a difference.

There were easily more than thirty varieties laid out. Scanning through the catalog, my primary takeaway was simple.

"Man... these are ridiculous."

The cheapest option on the list started at seven thousand stones. Even with my VIP discount, that came out to thirty-five hundred. The ones that looked slightly better cost well over ten thousand. Picking just a couple would drain my stash dry in seconds.

This left me with a dilemma: should I buy several smaller, cheaper elixirs, or invest in one or two heavy hitters?

"Naturally, you must consume a substantial one. Trash such as the Lesser Giant's Serum will produce zero effect within your system regardless of how much you swallow."

Excuse me? Senior Merlin, aren't you judging that by your own absurd standards?

Cassias had said the exact same thing last time when I bought the root filament of the Ten-Thousand-Year Fleeceflower. He claimed elixirs were long-term investments and a single sliver wouldn't show dramatic results. And what was the outcome? My mana capacity had jumped by two entire tiers. The same logic applied here.

I selected six elixirs, including the Lesser Giant's Serum, the Pouch Containing the Breath of the Mountain, and the Refined Ironwood Sap.

The total cost?

Phew... Cleaned out to the bone.

"Oho... You shall come to regret this folly."

<Um... Lord Merlin.>

Exactly. Cassias had already witnessed it firsthand—the frightening degree to which my body soaked up elixir efficacy like a dry sponge. Now it was Senior Merlin's turn to get an education.

Gulp—!

I downed the contents in rapid succession.

"Wait... What in the world is this...?"

See? I told you cheap elixirs worked wonders for me at this stage.

I found myself genuinely grateful to those Chinese hunters. Thanks to their seven hundred million won, how many stat ranks had I just leaped across? I will definitely repay this debt of gratitude.

With an EX-rank clear of the tower, of course.

First, though, I needed to handle the trial right in front of me.

"Senior, should I head straight into the third floor of the Tower of Transcendence?"