Chapter 142
Chapter 142
Chapter 142
"By predetermined ending..."
To Austin's question, Seo-jin answered calmly.
"At the current climbing speed, we cannot conquer the tower's final floor. And the price of failing to conquer the tower will surely be catastrophic."
Seo-jin remembers.
'The massive magical disaster that occurred right after the tower's collapse.'
Before his regression, Seo-jin and the other frontline strategy teams failed to climb the tower to the end, and humanity paid the price.
The tower that had brought prosperity to humanity collapsed just like that.
The destruction of the Seoul area caused by the tower's physical collapse was a tremendous disaster, but that was only a tiny fraction of the price humanity had to pay.
The magical power that filled the tower's interior exploded outward across the entire world, causing an enormous magical disaster.
That wasn't all. All sorts of magical beasts and monsters that lived in the tower, as well as the demon fragments that ruled the tower, spread into the outside world.
Those who spread across the entire world ravaged helpless ordinary people and collapsed human civilization.
Against their tough hide, powerful strength, and overwhelming numbers, modern weapons were only good enough to buy time.
Of course, climbers were no exception to becoming victims of the massacre.
Those who had comfortably leveled up under the tower's protection couldn't properly utilize that power outside the tower.
Humanity was on the verge of helplessly collapsing, but fortunately, they had hope.
With Sword Star and the strategy team as the focal point, high-ranking climbers from each country gathered to form a new organization.
Its name was the Humanity Reconstruction Committee.
There, Seo-jin took charge of educating mages, laid the foundation for modern magic, and trained combat mages.
He modified artifacts to enhance combat power and developed narcotic cigarettes for those suffering and dying in agony.
Thanks to Seo-jin's dedication and efforts, humanity finally managed to recapture the Seoul area, and Seo-jin even created a seal to block the magical power leaking from the destroyed tower, bringing the situation to a temporary end.
However, that process involved the sacrifice of billions of humans, and its end was betrayal and execution.
Seo-jin let out a small sigh and finished his thoughts.
"...I can't let such a thing happen."
"You crazy bastard. Were you really thinking of saving humanity?"
Nam-gung Cheon spat out curses as if he couldn't believe it, but Seo-jin shook his head.
"It didn't start from such a noble purpose."
Seo-jin hadn't had such grand goals from the beginning either.
'Everything started when I began making the Stone of Regression.'
This had originated from simple curiosity.
But as research on the Stone of Regression progressed, Seo-jin saw possibilities, and judged that with this alone, he could reverse the countless trial and error he had repeated while conquering the tower.
And after Ha-yeon's Eternal Snow Ice seal and the tower's collapse, this transformed into Seo-jin's only lifeline of hope.
Whether the Stone of Regression would work as theorized was uncertain, but that was the only possibility left to Seo-jin.
While saving humanity became the goal in the end, its beginning and end were extremely personal emotions.
That's not much different now either.
The reason Seo-jin is moving so diligently isn't because of some noble cause.
'It's probably because I don't want to have regrets.'
A chance gained again. This time, he mustn't repeat the same mistakes as before.
This time, he won't let Ha-yeon be sealed like that, won't let the tower collapse, and won't be easily betrayed.
And at the end of that... living well, eating well until he's too old to care for himself is his personal wish.
Having finished his thoughts, Seo-jin chuckled and said.
"It's all work I'm doing for my own benefit. No need to look up to me too much."
"Hmph, who's looking up to you?"
Nam-gung Cheon snorted and turned his body away sharply.
He knew from being beside him that Seo-jin was an incredible person, but he wasn't someone to look up to or learn from.
Even if he wanted to, he couldn't.
'A superhuman that ordinary people can't follow.'
Truly a supernova. He didn't know who gave him the nickname, but they did a damn good job with it.
"But how long do we have to keep hiding around? It's not like we're properly hidden so no one knows, and everyone who should know already knows."
While Reverse Heaven Society aimed for the shadows, its member composition was known to high-ranking officials of various corporations.
Even ordinary citizens could easily deduce it if they just searched for information diligently.
Literally an open secret.
Seo-jin said.
"No, this position is perfect right now."
This was similar to the reason Seo-jin had gained fame by breaking various records without clearly revealing his identity.
Seo-jin could use that subtle anonymity to wander around the tower without particular interference.
At the same time, he could use that fame to create such a wonderful team, and the strategy team was also stimulated to proceed with conquest at a much faster pace than before his regression.
That wasn't all.
Although public opinion toward Seo-jin was currently ambiguous, the number of climbers newly entering the tower had increased several times over due to stimulation from Nova's appearance.
Moreover, those who had been staying long-term on each floor all began climbing the tower at once, so this alone was sufficient to achieve the intended purpose.
'Reverse Heaven Society's role is to do together what I had been doing alone until now.'
Reverse Heaven Society's position was also an extension of the position Seo-jin had taken.
If they carelessly came into the open, they'd be caught up in unnecessary regulations and public opinion, making it difficult to operate properly.
You could tell just by watching the frontline strategy team get dragged to press conferences and bombarded with questions every time they succeeded in conquering the tower.
'Reverse Heaven Society must carry out the dirty work that the strategy team can't touch.'
Since they would need to do things that might involve bloodshed without hesitation depending on circumstances, building up fame would be an obstacle.
Also, if Reverse Heaven Society gained fame as great as the frontline strategy team, it would be like having two suns in one sky, which would never be a good thing.
If competition between the two teams intensified and proceeded in a wasteful direction, it would be a huge loss for climbing the tower.
So Reverse Heaven Society should position itself as shadows instead of the sun, able to flexibly change positions to cooperate with or support the strategy team rather than being purely competitive.
'But they can't completely hide in the shadows either.'
If Reverse Heaven Society's activities weren't reported, it would be difficult to build momentum.
Momentum was the driving force that made climbers climb the tower.
'Since all the information is already known, we couldn't hide even if we wanted to.'
But setting aside these reasons, the most important reason was.
"Besides, this is just cool, isn't it?"
"...?"
"Do you need more explanation? A dark hero active beneath the surface. Isn't that romantic? That's enough."
When Seo-jin spoke jokingly, Nam-gung Cheon also chuckled and replied.
"You crazy bastard."
Austin and Zieg lying beside them also stifled their laughter, going "keke."
The night slowly passed with such silly talk.
***
The next day.
Seo-jin's group went to the previous day's food stall with the feeling of doing daily quests to have breakfast.
"roejfqdu."
Seo-jin looked at the menu and ordered in the natives' clumsy language.
At this sight, the owner looked at Seo-jin with surprised, wide eyes and corrected his pronunciation slightly.
[e kro ejf qdu]
"Ah. Thank you."
[World Quest#1-2. (Repeatable)]
- Understand the natives' dining customs and enjoy food together. Quest fails if you consume food from outside the 37th floor.
[Merit +10]
Just by having a meal here, his merit increased by 10.
'The maximum merit an individual can accumulate per day is 100.'
Of this, 50 merit could be obtained through repetitive daily quests like meals or wearing clothing.
The remaining 50 was meant to be earned through random quests or monster hunting.
There were also special quests that could accumulate additional merit beyond the daily allocation of 100.
[Special Quest#Waterway Construction]
- The waterway has been destroyed, so the natives are currently only using the well in the village center. Please create waterways for those suffering from water shortage.
[Special Merit 3,000]
[Special Quest#Fortress Repair]
- The wooden fence and watchtowers protecting the village have deteriorated. Please repair the fortress for the natives suffering from monster attacks.
[Special Merit 3,000]
.
.
.
While they gave a lot of merit, they seemed like quite major construction projects, so they weren't very efficient.
Since eight party members could earn 400 merit per day just by diligently completing daily quests.
Still, it was beneficial to proceed with quests unconditionally, so Seo-jin divided the team in two.
"First, you guys are the reconnaissance team."
Seo-jin organized Nam-gung Cheon, Francesca, Se-yeon, and Zieg into the reconnaissance group.
It was a scouting role to subjugate nearby monsters and check if there were other villages nearby or dungeons worth conquering.
Nam-gung Cheon, Francesca, and Se-yeon were fast-moving and skilled in combat with enemies, and Zieg could provide healing, though inefficiently, with divine magic, making it an optimal combination for combat and reconnaissance.
"What about you?"
"We should repair something here."
Unlike those four who were only good at fighting, Seo-jin, So-yul, Nam-gung Rin, and Austin who remained here each had abilities that could help with village repairs.
Austin could help with civil engineering using spirit magic, and Seo-jin could also assist with Baduki's earth magic and Glize's ice magic.
So-yul specialized in fire magic but could also use other auxiliary magic, and Nam-gung Rin could produce similar effects thanks to Taoist arts using the power of the Five Elements.
"...So you're telling us who can only fight to go out."
Seo-jin shrugged his shoulders.
"Can't help it. Then would you rather stay here and dig the ground?"
At Seo-jin's words, Nam-gung Cheon waved his hands dismissively.
"Forget it. Being a scout is better than digging."
No matter how skilled climbers they were, manually digging huge waterways and repairing castle walls with bare hands was arduous work.
It was more comfortable for everyone and more efficient to leave it to those who could use appropriate magic.
"But can I wear just shoes before going?"
Nam-gung Cheon asked Seo-jin about wearing items.
Currently, Seo-jin's group was dressed in native clothing for daily quests.
Wearing something like straw sandals, rough hemp clothes on their bodies, and straw raincoats over them, they looked no different from the natives.
Wearing this all day would earn 10 merit, but if they wore other clothing-type items here, they wouldn't be able to earn a day's worth of merit.
'All team members are currently registered as integrated party members.'
Thanks to this, they had the advantage of being able to raise merit together, but conversely, if just one person caused problems, they could lose about 80 merit per day.
"No."
It might seem like nothing much, but once you make an exception, you keep breaking the rules.
In two months, that would be a loss of about 4,800 merit.
Unless it was boss conquest or a special crisis situation, wearing clothing-type items was prohibited.
"How strict."
Just as Nam-gung Cheon was grumbling and about to leave the village with the scouting team.
"Take this guy too."
Seo-jin summoned Tam (Greed) just in case and handed it to Se-yeon. It would come forward to help in emergency situations.
"Yes."
So the four left to patrol the surroundings.
"Then what should we start with?"
So-yul, Nam-gung Rin, Austin, and Seo-jin who remained in the village decided to dig waterways first.
"It's annoying to summon Undine every time to wash. It would be better to dig waterways and bring water."
The 37th floor was a huge swampland.
As such, water veins were well developed, so bringing water itself wouldn't be very difficult.
"But the water here is incredibly dirty."
"That's true."
Even if water was everywhere, the important thing was getting water clean enough to drink.
But water from swamplands teeming with poisonous insects and monsters couldn't be clean.
'If I mix the herbs and materials I have well, temporary purification would be possible.'
But continuously purifying water supplied through waterways would be difficult.
Seo-jin was lost in thought for a moment before making a decision.
"Wait here for a bit."
Leaving his teammates behind, Seo-jin strode out of the village alone and used [Dead Summoning].
"Come forth, Antarea."
Black Dragon, Demon Dragon Antarea.
[Krararara-!]
A huge magic circle was drawn in the air, and a giant skeletal dragon tore through the magic circle and roared toward the darkness.