Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 6
"What does the Tower exist for, exactly?"
Seo-jin asked Nimrod something he had harbored in his heart for a long time.
The Tower's appearance.
This was certainly a great blessing for humanity.
The nearly infinite magic stones produced in the Tower became humanity's new energy source, and the crops and elixirs cultivated in the Tower cured incurable diseases and solved hunger problems.
Also, those who were disillusioned with this world or had lost everything and wanted to start over from scratch headed to the Tower with hope.
The Tower was certainly a land of new opportunities and a gift given to humanity.
But one day, that Tower collapsed.
Half of humanity disappeared at the moment of the Tower's collapse, and those who survived gradually died in a world that had become a hellscape.
A cruel world where demons ravaged the living and all sorts of great beings treated humans like insects.
Having struggled to survive in that merciless world, it was natural to have such doubts.
What does the Tower exist for?
Why did it appear on this land and allow humanity to enjoy prosperity?
And why did it collapse and bring unbearable disaster?
To this question, Nimrod asked Seo-jin in return.
[Then conversely, let me ask you. What do you think the Tower exists for?]
"......"
When Seo-jin didn't answer, Nimrod calmly opened his mouth.
[What the Tower provides is neither prosperity, nor peace, nor stability. Destruction and death are even less so. Those are merely processes or erroneous results. What the Tower truly provides is 'opportunity'.]
"Opportunity."
When Seo-jin repeated it as if chewing on the word, Nimrod nodded.
[Yes, this is an opportunity given to the species called humanity. It can be seen as the only lifeline to prevent predetermined destruction.]
Seo-jin's expression crumpled upon hearing the answer.
The Tower that brought destruction to humanity was actually the only lifeline to prevent destruction?
Though he had heard the answer he wanted, Seo-jin's thoughts became even more complicated.
"Then......"
When Seo-jin was about to ask something more, Nimrod bowed politely with a smile.
[The questions and answers end here. Time is up. I think I must go now.]
TICK-
When Nimrod snapped his fingers, bright light soon covered his vision.
Beyond that blurry afterimage, Nimrod's final words echoed in Seo-jin's ears.
[If you seek true answers, please come to a higher place. I look forward to the day we meet again, Climber Lee Seo-jin.]
***
"Looking for Coleda Dungeon party members!"
"Looking for a healer to take the 3rd floor climbing test together!"
After the brief conversation with Nimrod, Seo-jin came to his senses and found himself standing in the middle of a bustling fountain square.
'This place is definitely.'
Seo-jin looked around in a daze.
Blue sky. Warm sunlight streaming down between white clouds.
The sky where pure white doves flew peacefully and below it, a European-style city with red roofs lined up.
This place that seemed like a fantasy world was exactly the Tower's 2nd floor.
'The Land of Beginning.'
He had been transferred to the 2nd floor by Nimrod immediately after the tutorial.
This was the place where climbers who had successfully passed the tutorial first set foot.
As it would be for anyone climbing the Tower, since this was the place where he first started climbing, Seo-jin also felt a new sense of emotion.
Old memories came flooding back of rolling on the ground in bloody battles with low-level wolves, and wandering through forests trying to gather herbs for potions only to be rescued.
'Now it feels real.'
When he woke up in his studio apartment right after regressing, he had headed straight to the Tower, and when he was taking the administrator's test, he had no time to think about other things.
Only after setting foot on this Land of Beginning did he truly feel like he was starting over.
It was a bit unsettling that he hadn't received a proper answer about the Tower from Nimrod, but it wasn't something to worry about more.
What he had to do going forward hadn't changed at all.
'Become stronger and climb to higher places.'
As he said, the answer was always in higher places.
It was when Seo-jin was immersed in sentiment like this.
He could hear people strolling around the square whispering.
Oppa, look at that person over there. He must have just finished the tutorial.
Why are his clothes like that? Did he get beaten up by goblins like that?
He doesn't seem to have a guild either? Didn't they teach him how to use gold?
Passersby making comments about Seo-jin's reaction and appearance. At their words, Seo-jin suddenly came to his senses.
'Ah, gold.'
Gold was the currency used inside the Tower.
Gold was the currency used inside the Tower, and usually climbers who cleared the tutorial learned about gold and how to use shops through a guide and moved to a beginner's guild.
However, Seo-jin had been transferred directly to the 2nd floor after the administrator's test, so he hadn't had time to spend gold.
'Let me see how much has accumulated.'
He had cleared the tutorial up to the 9th stage and successfully passed the administrator's test. Plus, he had achieved many achievements, so he must have accumulated quite a lot of gold.
Seo-jin opened his status window to check his gold holdings.
[121,100]
"......"
The amount currently in Seo-jin's possession was approximately 120,000 gold.
Since 1 gold was worth about 10,000 won, this was a considerable fortune to have in the early stages of the Tower.
It was worth all the suffering.
'First, let me get some clothes that are comfortable to move in.'
The clothes he was currently wearing were everyday clothes unsuitable for combat. Moreover, they had melted in Behemoth's gastric acid and were in terrible condition, so he needed to get new clothes.
After checking his gold, Seo-jin immediately headed to a clothing store near the square.
"Welcome... oh."
The merchant's expression, who had greeted Seo-jin with a bright smile, slightly hardened.
He looked like a delinquent climber at first glance.
'Geez, business is tough.'
Delinquent climbers. Those who had no will to climb higher and lived day to day by collecting low-grade magic stones from nearby hunting grounds.
Without investing in equipment or items, they exchanged money as soon as they earned it and went outside the Tower, so they weren't helpful for business.
Recently, the number of delinquent climbers who had settled on the starting floor had greatly increased, making them a big headache for merchants.
Whether he knew the merchant's feelings or not, the shabby-looking customer arrogantly put his hands behind his back and asked.
"Don't you do business here?"
"......We do. What are you looking for?"
"Robes for mages. The best one."
'The best one, what.'
The merchant silently took out a 10-gold low-grade robe and showed it to him.
A robe that looked so low quality it would barely block wind and rain.
It had no additional effects except for Health +1.
"How is it?"
"It's a 10-gold low-grade robe. Is this the level of this store?"
Along with those words, the customer, no, the client took out a bundle of gold from thin air and placed it on the counter.
CLINK-
"......!"
"The best one. I won't say it twice."
Seeing the bundle of gold, the merchant swallowed his saliva and took out a robe he had carefully stored deep in the store to show to the customer.
"How about this?"
[Blessing's Magic Robe]
Grade: A
Category: Upper body
High-quality robe with good breathability and durability. Does not damage easily.
Magic Power + 5
Health + 5
Unique Effect: [Wave Change]
You can change the color as desired.
"How much?"
"1,200 gold."
After examining the robe for a moment, Seo-jin soon nodded.
'Not bad.'
It was a bit expensive for low-level gear, but he had more than enough money anyway.
"Show me other things too. Shoes, gloves, and pants as well."
"Yes!"
The merchant efficiently brought out the items he had stored, and Seo-jin quickly assembled a full set of beginner equipment.
Spending money on early items like this was something to avoid, but.
'Equipment crafting only opens after level 20 anyway.'
At least until then, it would be useful.
"P-please take care!"
The merchant bowed 90 degrees to see him off, unlike when Seo-jin first entered.
When Seo-jin came back out of the store covered in expensive gear.
Oh.
The people who had been whispering about Seo-jin earlier pretended to mind their own business and left.
L-let's go. He must be rich.
.....It was newbie cosplay.
Should I ask to borrow some money?
'They know expensive stuff.'
Anyway, judging by the passersby's reactions, it seemed the news about achieving a new tutorial record hadn't spread yet.
Having changed into neat clothes, Seo-jin immediately headed to a nearby restaurant.
The place he found was the Tears-Soaked Soup Restaurant where he had been greatly indebted during his low-level days before regression.
After placing his order and waiting, a bowl of boiling soup was soon placed in front of Seo-jin.
SLURP-
'This is the taste.'
The savory and deep flavor spreading in Seo-jin's mouth.
In the world where civilization had been destroyed, it was impossible to get proper meals.
Moreover, even after regression, he had gone straight to the Tower and taken arduous tests, so he had been hungry.
When the hot soup went down his throat, a wave of emotion came over him.
Seo-jin, who had been hastily eating the soup, ordered additional boiled pork and drinks while he was at it.
Afterwards, while continuing his meal, Seo-jin looked at his gold acquisition history while chewing meat.
[Goblin Elimination +100]
[Gremlin Elimination +200]
[Kobold Elimination +400]
[Lizardman Elimination +800]
.
.
[Troll Elimination + 25,600]
The gold acquired from clearing the tutorial was 51,100 gold.
Adding the gold obtained from passing the administrator's test and the gold earned from achieving various achievements, it was approximately 120,000 gold.
It was enough money to buy an apartment with a loan in Seoul and live comfortably by just investing the remainder in safe assets.
In the past, he might have been satisfied here and gone outside the Tower.
But
'It's different now.'
Seo-jin quietly steeled his resolve.
He was a living witness who had directly experienced the great disaster that would come in the future and had made it through.
As long as he had the goals of preventing the Tower's collapse and taking revenge on Ju Won-jae who had killed him, he couldn't stop here.
This gold would have to be invested for the future.
Seo-jin also checked his status window.
[Lee Seo-jin]
[LV.1] [Beginner]
Health: 10 (+5)
Strength: 10 (+2)
Magic Power: 10 (+8)
Agility: 10 (+4)
Luck: 10 (+1)
[Distributable stats available.]
+20
***
'It's disappointing that the tutorial room doesn't accumulate experience points.'
Seo-jin's current level was 1.
An awakened person's initial stats generally start at 10, and two distributable stats are given each time they level up.
Additional stats could be obtained through achieving accomplishments, clearing quests, or equipping items, but this was limited.
'If it were my previous life, I would have dumped everything into magic power without thinking.'
Since the Magic Power stat directly relates to the total amount of mana and the power of magic, mages usually concentrate their investment in this stat.
However, Seo-jin had realized something while climbing the Tower in his previous life.
'Climbing the Tower requires more diverse abilities than expected.'
It's better to do one thing properly than to be mediocre at everything, but you can't succeed with just one thing either.
'I need to become the best mage, but I can't become someone who is nothing without magic.'
So there was a need to modify his overall development approach.
'Develop capabilities in multiple areas.'
This was his growth goal for this life.
If physical ability stats including health increased, he would also be able to withstand the burden that black magic imposed, so investing in other areas wouldn't be bad.
In his previous life, he had meekly let Ju Won-jae capture and kill him partly because of the side effects of black magic—he didn't have many days left to live.
In the end, Seo-jin allocated stats mainly to magic power while also appropriately distributing to other stats.
Health: 13 (+5)
Strength: 13 (+2)
Magic Power: 18 (+8)
Agility: 13 (+4)
Luck: 13 (+1)
Distributing stats like this would usually result in becoming a mediocre jack-of-all-trades, but Seo-jin was confident he would become a complete monster, not a jack-of-all-trades.
'Even now I'm only level 1 but I have a total stat sum of level 10 or higher.'
If you include the additional stats from equipment items expressed in parentheses, the difference becomes even greater.
His magic power alone was 26.
Since no one else spent money like Seo-jin did to get equipment early on.
Anyway, after monopolizing various hidden quests and achievements and obtaining rare crafting recipes to wear artifacts, it wouldn't be too difficult to overwhelm others.
Moreover.
'What's truly important isn't stats or anything like that.'
Stats are merely visible numbers and basic elements that determine weight class.
'The real difference in ability depends on individual combat capability, talent, and characteristics.'
Even the same skill produces vastly different results depending on who uses it and how.
This was proven by Seo-jin killing a giant monster with a body no different from an ordinary person.
......Of course, Seo-jin was a very special case.
Having finished his thoughts, Seo-jin closed the status window and opened a special window glowing golden.
[Achievement Points]
If gold was the common currency used inside the Tower, achievement points were a kind of special privilege obtained when achieving special accomplishments for the first time.
These were player-bound points that could neither be transferred nor traded.
With these achievement points, one could perform normally impossible tasks such as purchasing and editing characteristics, releasing item level caps, and removing demerits.
Given their tremendous performance, they were very difficult to obtain, and ordinary awakened individuals were grateful just to get one or two points.
[Achievement Points Held: 45]
Although he had gained many achievement points by passing the administrator's test, it wasn't quite satisfactory.
Considering that editing one S-grade characteristic consumed about 100 points, it was far from enough.
'Let me save them for now.'
It would be better to carefully decide on using achievement points considering the characteristics or items he would obtain later.
It was then that Seo-jin was lost in thought.
Breaking news. We bring you news that the frontline strategy team led by Sword Star Ju Won-jae is challenging the 30th floor. Special correspondent Shin A-young?
News flowing from the soup restaurant's TV.
Seo-jin turned his gaze to look at the news report.
Yes, reporting directly from the 29th floor scene. The frontline strategy team has currently reached the gate leading to the 30th floor, and tomorrow Sword Star Ju Won-jae and the strategy team plan to challenge climbing again. Using their previous failure as a stepping stone......
Ju Won-jae's image reflected in Seo-jin's coldly settled eyes.
He was receiving everyone's attention with the same confident and relaxed face as in his previous life.
Seo-jin looked at Ju Won-jae, who was revered as a hero of South Korea, and fell into thought.
In the past, South Korea received attention from around the world as the only country that harbored the main body of the 'Tower', but there were actually few rankers from South Korea.
'The appearance of awakened individuals is ultimately proportional to population.'
Thanks to accessibility, South Korean rankers took the lead in the early days of the Tower's appearance, but as time passed, the advantages of being the host country disappeared.
Later, as rankers from other countries broke climbing records one after another, public opinion was becoming tainted with defeatism when Ju Won-jae appeared like a supernova.
He broke all previous records, stood at the forefront of Tower strategy, and established himself as a national hero.
When rumors of his romance with Kwon Ha-yeon, the youngest daughter of 'Hanseong', one of South Korea's leading conglomerates and a saintess, circulated, everyone thought 'of course'.
After his appearance, a boom occurred where many South Korean climbers emerged.
In the past when Seo-jin didn't know Ju Won-jae's true nature, he had once harbored admiration and envy toward him.
Not now, though.
That's when it happened.
Breaking news!
While news about the strategy team's 30th floor challenge was being reported, the screen suddenly changed.
News that a new tutorial record has been set! This is a record that surpasses the previous record set by Sword Star Ju Won-jae, and the association is currently focusing on understanding the situation and information about the climber and whereabouts......
Ju Won-jae's annoying face was pushed off the TV screen by the sudden breaking news.
Seeing that felt like ten years of indigestion was going down.
"BURP."
Afterwards, with a much lighter heart, Seo-jin finished the boiled pork and soup and got up from his seat.
"Check, please."
Seo-jin took out a pile of gold from his inventory and handed it to the soup restaurant lady.
She gasped at seeing the bundle of gold coins.
"Th-this is too much?"
"Just keep it."
Since he had been greatly indebted in his previous life, this would be sufficient payment.
After finishing payment, Seo-jin went outside and strode purposefully somewhere.
Where his steps headed was the 2nd floor climbing test site.
It was the gateway to the 3rd floor.