Thanks for the Blessing

Inside the director's office at the Awakened Management Bureau in Seoul, South Korea, Director Ko Jinhyuk clicked his tongue with a bitter grimace.

"Tsk... So you're saying you still haven't found out who it is?"

"I'm deeply sorry, sir..."

"Still nothing, huh," the director muttered to himself as he turned his gaze back to the large monitor on the wall.

Displayed on the screen was a global leaderboard.

The world rankings from Floor 1 through Floor 4 of the Tower of Despair had completely turned upside down. Barely a week ago, every single top spot belonged solely to China's Luo Qin. What was more, he had held them by an insurmountable margin. Until now, Luo Qin was the only Climber on Earth to have ever achieved an S-rank clear.

"To think someone swept all those records clean," Jinhyuk murmured, shaking his head. "And not just with an S-rank, but with an unheard-of EX-rank."

It was a run of miraculous feats that defied belief. Naturally, the Bureau had mobilized every resource to investigate. Deciding whether to recruit this individual into the Bureau was a secondary concern; before anything else, they needed to know who they were dealing with. Yet, despite leveraging every asset at their disposal, their investigation had hit a complete dead end. Even so, there was one detail they could count on with certainty.

"Seeing as he's steadily cleared one floor every day, he'll likely challenge the fifth floor tomorrow."

"That is our assessment as well, Director."

"What about China's reaction? There's no way those bastards are taking this lying down."

"As you anticipated, they've begun applying diplomatic pressure... but..."

"What did they say?" Jinhyuk asked, leaning back.

"They claimed that if an ungrateful Korean Awakener dares to steal Luo Qin's blessing, China will not stand idly by..."

"Ha! Give me a break." Jinhyuk let out a dry, incredulous laugh. The reaction was so thoroughly predictable that it almost robbed him of words. "Those lunatic bastards... Steal? Did I hear that right?"

Listening to them, an outsider would think the Tower's blessings were their private property.

"They're already hoarding more blessings than anyone else on Earth, yet their greed knows no bounds."

Luo Qin was hailed across the globe as the Heavenly Emperor. Yet, rather than an inflated moniker, his dominance was best explained by cold, hard numbers.

Luo Qin was the undisputed World Number One. Analysts estimated his personal combat prowess to exceed the combined strength of the world's second- and third-ranked Awakeners, Cedric and Ethan. He had not reached the sixty-sixth floor on sheer luck alone.

"And with that standing comes an absurd stockpile of blessings," Jinhyuk added.

Rumor had it that Luo Qin was the product of immense natural talent, an unprecedentedly rare awakening, and the unreserved backing of the entire Chinese state. As a result, he held no fewer than eight blessings. Given that only thirteen blessings had been discovered up to the sixty-fifth floor, one man possessed more than half of humanity's total divine boons. Under such circumstances, parting with one or two hardly seemed unreasonable.

"Human greed rarely works that way, sir."

"True enough."

"Moreover, the blessing awarded on the fifth floor is notoriously exceptional..."

The subordinate was right. The reward for claiming the top spot on Floor 5 was the Seal of Amplification, a blessing that doubled all rewards obtained within the Tower.

While potent even on the lower floors, its true worth became apparent once Luo Qin breached the sixtieth floor and introduced intermediate magic crystals to the world.

"When I first heard he was harvesting twice as many intermediate magic crystals, I nearly turned green with envy," Jinhyuk remarked.

"It isn't merely double, Director. It's quadruple. That monster also holds the Floor 30 blessing, allowing him to enter the Tower twice a day."

"Haaah..." Jinhyuk rubbed his temples.

Intermediate magic crystals offered an efficiency in a completely different dimension compared to regular crystals, commanding values hundreds or thousands of times higher. The massive discrepancy existed because China used intermediate magic crystals as geopolitical leverage to twist the arm of the global community, releasing supplies to nations that bowed to their demands while cutting off those who refused.

"So if our mystery Climber shatters the record, their supply gets cut in half."

Jinhyuk's eyes gleamed with sudden anticipation. In fact, if this EX-rank Climber continued to climb, South Korea might one day become a major global distributor of intermediate magic crystals.

Now that... is a prospect worth looking forward to.

Information freely available to anyone willing to look was something Kim Haun uncovered with ease.

"Holy crap... A blessing that doubles all magic crystal drops on the fifth floor?"

He scrolled down, double-checking the description, and his jaw dropped. It wasn't just magic crystals—it doubled all rewards.

"Wait, seriously? The Floor 5 blessing is cracked!"

To think that greedy pig Luo Qin had been hogging such a windfall all to himself. No wonder the guy was so strong.

I needed a ton of magic crystals anyway. This couldn't have worked out better.

Doubling his haul every day would add up to an astronomical fortune in no time. Just picturing it brought a wide grin to his face. Of course, reaping those benefits required breaking the fifth floor's record first, but that was tomorrow's task. For today...

"Are there any gates left around here...?"

He had already completed his daily run in the Tower. Lingering around doing nothing felt like a waste when he could be clearing gates or dungeons to farm more crystals. He checked the Gate Alert app ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on his phone, which flagged hazardous zones nearby, but the interface remained quiet.

"Sigh..."

Awakeners affiliated with the government or high-ranking guilds reportedly possessed private intelligence networks, allowing them to conquer gates long before they were ever announced to the general public. He couldn't help feeling a tinge of envy.

"Ah, right!" A thought struck him. "I was going to ask about that at the shop."

He needed to make another visit right away, especially since he was still curious about what that Primordial Force was supposed to be.

Inside the Arcana Market of the Tower of Transcendence, the stony shopkeeper let out a heavy sigh.

<So... you have returned again, is that it?>

"Yep!"

<Going forward, I must charge you magic crystals simply to answer questions.>

"Come on, why? Is that any way to treat a loyal regular?"

<One who buys only scrap and cheap trinkets is not a regular, but a nuisance. Enough chatter. If you seek answers, produce the crystals.>

Ugh, seriously... Haun grumbled internally as he patted down his pockets. Digging into every corner, he managed to scrounge up twenty-six magic crystals—the hard-earned blood and sweat of his runs through Floors 1 through 4 of the Tower of Despair.

"Will this do...?"

<Hmph... Hand it over.>

Wow, he's really taking all of it! Twenty-six magic crystals equated to roughly 1.3 million won in cold, hard cash. Haun resolved to squeeze every drop of information he could out of this deal.

"First question: Primordial Force. It showed up right after I cleared the first floor. You know what it is, right?"

"A shift in tier?"

<Indeed. It means your energy, once as murky as mud, has become as pristine as mountain spring water.>

"Murky water to spring water...?" Haun scratched his head. "Uh..."

<How a creature who is not even a Pre-Transcendent set foot in this Tower remains a mystery... To put it in terms your simple mind can grasp: consider your mana purity heightened.>

"Aha!" Haun's eyes lit up. "Why didn't you just say that in the first place? That makes total sense!"

He was well aware of how mana purity worked: the purer the mana, the deadlier the skill. In essence, it acted like an innate passive trait that slapped bonus damage onto everything ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he cast.

<...For now, hold that understanding if you must.>

Man, that's completely broken! Haun grinned.

<Do you harbor another inquiry? My head aches, so speak swiftly and begone.>

Since when does a stone golem get headaches? Haun marveled at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the creature before focusing on his main concern.

"Of course I do. This is the big one. I want to grind gates and dungeons relentlessly to farm crystals. Is there any way to detect them beforehand or open them manually?"

<Good grief... For a paltry twenty-six crystals, your curiosity knows no bounds.>

"Hey, don't act like you don't know," Haun wheedled. "You're gonna tell me anyway."

<Naturally, methods exist. Did I not inform you before? There is nothing the Arcana Market does not possess. Such a minor craft is trivial—bring me two hundred crystals, and it shall be yours.>

'Nothing it doesn't possess,' my foot, Haun thought. You didn't have the Mana Control Elixir earlier!

<Ahem.> The golem cleared its stony throat as if sensing his thoughts.

Still, learning that such an item actually existed was massive news.

"Wait, what?"

<If you wish to learn more next time, prepare one hundred crystals per question.>

"Come on, man! That's daylight robbery!"

<Begone.>

A flash of light engulfed Haun's vision.

His second unceremonious eviction taught him one undeniable truth: that golem was stingier than a scrawny landlord. The creature was made of rock, and it certainly showed in its lack of blood or tears.

Just you wait. I'm going to farm so many crystals that I'll unleash all the nightmare customer habits I picked up working at the convenience store!

Still, confirming the existence of a gate-hunting item made the trip worthwhile. All he had to do was gather two hundred crystals.

"Alright, time to get serious."

His roadmap was already laid out. First, seize the Floor 5 blessing to double all Tower drops. With that bonus active, he could climb the floors and rapidly farm the two hundred crystals. Once he acquired the tracking device, he would sweep through real-world gates and dungeons at will.

"Heh, perfect."

Then a sudden thought gave him pause.

Wait... It doubles all rewards obtained within the Tower? Does that mean... could it apply to the Tower of Transcendence, too?

Since the Tower of Transcendence was visible to no one on Earth but him, testing the theory was the only way to find out. The moment midnight struck, Haun initiated his ascent.

Floor 5 of the Tower of Despair was widely regarded as the first true trial where earnest combat began. Online communities had been buzzing with speculation all day.

After reviewing the community data, Haun felt confident. First place seemed well within ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his grasp.

"The veteran Climbers already finished breaking down the mechanics, after all."

The Despair-Tainted Tortoise, the very first boss-tier entity encountered in the Tower, possessed the raw combat power of a C- to D-rank raid boss. While confronting such a beast at Level 5 sounded suicidal for an ordinary Awakener, an established strategy existed.

"Since it's slow, kiting it is easy. The guide says its defense and attack power decay steadily the longer it chases you."

Once its stats degraded, executing it was simple work. That was the orthodox strategy. In that case, what was the standing world record held by Luo Qin?

According to reports, Luo Qin had simply battered the creature down through overwhelming, brute-force firepower. But Haun had faced a monster of that caliber before.

An Elite Minotaur, a certified C-rank raid boss. He had slain one at Level 1, back when his stats and mana purity were substantially lower than they were now.

"In other words..." Haun smirked. "Child's play."

KABOOOM—!

A blinding surge of Primordial Force tore through the arena, reducing the colossal tortoise to ashes before it could even register his presence.

Just like that.

A triumphant smirk curved across Kim Haun's lips as the system banners washed over his view.

"Mr. Luo Qin? Thanks for the blessing. I'll be sure to put it to good use."