The Random Skill Box
"Whoa. What is this?"
The reward basket from the 41st floor was incredibly satisfying.
A contribution rate of a whopping 20% and 50,000 T.C.
I felt as if my realistic sense of money was becoming paralyzed.
“Are you pleased, nyang?”
“Of course! But is this the ‘Encouragement Effect’ again?”
The Encouragement Effect.
I knew it as a contribution effect that applied when the owner of the Tower thought, "They might actually be able to clear this floor."
“It is not, nyang. This time, it is the ‘Timekeeper’ effect, nyang.”
“Timekeeper effect?”
“It is an effect you can receive when you overwhelmingly reduce the time it takes to clear a floor, nyang.”
“Oh?”
“Actually, this is the first time this has happened, so even Rackcho finds this effect unfamiliar, nyang~.”
Rackcho made a question mark shape with its tail.
“Cute.”
“Is that a verbal tic, nyang?”
“I was just stating a fact?”
“Ahem, ahem!”
Rackcho averted its eyes.
Even cuter.
As I continued to stare intently, Rackcho suddenly forced a shop window to appear right in front of my eyes.
“Anyway, are you going to buy something, nyang?”
“Rackcho.”
“Why are you calling me, nyang?”
“Our Rackcho. You were so busy working today that you left your conscience behind for a moment, didn't you?”
A 5x5 shop window.
There was only one item listed.
…Why are you pretending to give me a choice?
“…It is still a good item, nyang.”
An item that Rackcho, while 'averting its eyes,' claimed was good.
I placed my hand over the crude, box-shaped icon that didn't look trustworthy in the slightest.
◈ Contains one random skill book ranging from F-Rank to S-Rank!
“Oh. I thought these only came from loot boxes, but you sell them too?”
“Of course, nyang! This is an item Rackcho worked hard to obtain, nyang! I fought with Beru from early this morning just to get this! Of course, I won, so I was able to bring it, nyang!”
Those blue eyes, seeking praise, looked up at me.
“Our Rackcho is amazing!”
“Nyang~.”
Swish, swish. Its fat—no, its fur-thickened tail—began to move even more vigorously.
Rackcho definitely has a charm that makes you want to pamper it.
“Are you going to buy it, nyang?”
'Levels are a bully. Skills are the more the merrier.'
It was a sentence used almost like a slogan in Awakened communities across every country.
Actually, getting something between F-Rank and S-Rank?
It was no different from spinning a random gacha box, but it wasn't necessarily bad.
Even if an F-Rank skill came out, as long as it was usable, I could sufficiently strengthen it through rank-ups.
As always, the important thing was the price.
“How much is this?”
“A mere 50,000 T.C., nyang.”
The answer came back without a moment's hesitation.
A mere? 50,000 T.C.?
“Rackcho… I told you last time, but why does it feel like you only ever bring items that require me to spend every cent I've earned?”
Last time, and this time too.
How does the item price always match exactly what I got as a reward?
At this point, I couldn't help but reasonably suspect that Rackcho was adjusting the prices to shake out every last speck of dust from my pockets.
“That is not true, nyang… it is a misunderstanding, nyang….”
Suddenly, Rackcho's ears and tail drooped. Its front paws were politely clasped together. Those ocean-blue eyes looked up at me, glistening.
This cunning cat is using its beauty again, isn't it?
“But Awakened Uju is very, very lucky, nyang. No matter how hard we try to stock expensive and good items, in most cases, only recovery potions and armor appear, nyang.”
Right. I had heard of that—no, I had seen it before.
People complaining that the Tower Merchant only sold recovery potions and armor every single day instead of the weapons or accessories they needed.
Still, even so, this is a bit….
“Originally, a skill book box is 100,000 T.C., nyang. You should think about it carefully, nyang.”
That's right. Since I had intruded into Seo Ian's Tower, a 50% sales discount was being applied.
“Besides, a fixed-rank skill book box becomes even more expensive, nyang. The price is the same for an F-Rank fixed box and a random one, nyang.”
In short, it was telling me to buy the random box, which could yield at least that much, for the price of an F-Rank skill book box.
“Our Rackcho, you're working hard on sales today, aren't you?”
“I am always working hard, nyang.”
“I’ll buy it.”
The attack skill I currently have?
Only Rapid Fire.
Of course, I was using it frequently instead of basic attacks, but I still wanted at least one.
A cool skill that packs a powerful punch, even if the cooldown is long!
My standards having been raised by the intrusions played a part in this, too.
Not just rankers like Seo Ian and Hong Jehun, but even Mr. Hwang Gyubeom, who roams the middle floors.
They all had powerful finishing moves, and they looked so refreshing and cool.
“Thank you as always, nyang~.”
Rackcho's ears and tail perked up.
“Ah! But Awakened Uju! Is it more comfortable for you if I call you a bit later, nyang?”
“Hm? Why suddenly that?”
“I can appear when Awakened Uju calls for me, nyang!”
“Oh? Then could you do that?”
“Understood, nyang~.”
There was no reason to refuse.
If I wasn't summoned by Rackcho immediately after finishing, I could talk to the floor owner and continue gathering materials a bit more.
Meanwhile, at that time.
Seo Ian, who had returned home, was in a very neat state.
Since she had been wrapped in armor from head to toe inside the Tower, she could return to a perfectly clean state just by taking it off.
“Ugh, I feel so sticky.”
Wanting to finish her workout and wash up quickly, Seo Ian headed straight to the personal gym in her house.
After a simple warm-up, the moment she put one foot on the treadmill to start her cardio warm-up.
“Huh?”
Her sub-phone began to blink silently.
The text that appeared on the screen was ‘Little Spam’.
It was likely that Association employee, Yoon something-or-other.
And then, her main phone began to ring.
“Yeah, why.”
She flipped her sub-phone face down and answered the call on her main phone.
[Are you out now?]
“Yeah.”
[Congratulations on clearing the 41st floor!!]
Heartfelt congratulations were carried by Park Siwoo's reliable voice.
“So what? I wasn't the first.”
What if she had been the first and even set an overwhelming record for the shortest time?
What do you mean, what if! It would have been perfect!
Ian, feeling a bitter taste in her mouth for no reason, clicked her tongue briefly.
[But I saw the time! How on earth did you do it? The average is in the 40-minute range. I heard the shortest record was in the 28-minute range? The foreign media is going crazy right now!]
However, unlike Seo Ian, his old friend Park Siwoo was very excited.
He was so excited that anyone would think he was the one who set the record!
“Hey. But has that rumor already spread?”
[If you're in Korea, you can hear the Korean Tower notifications even if you're a foreign Awakened, so that's probably why.]
“Ah, right.”
[Anyway, what should I tell people? I think it's bound to come up when we meet later.]
The people Park Siwoo was talking about were Association officials.
He was also a public servant belonging to the Association.
All enchanters worked as members of the Association.
Not because of a sense of duty or anything, but to ensure a smoother supply of materials.
“But why later, and not today?”
[I have some things to do, so I'm going straight into the production room as soon as this call ends.]
For an enchanter, saying they are going into the production room is synonymous with saying, 'You absolutely cannot meet me for the time being.'
“What do you mean, what to say. Just make something up. You're good at that, aren't you?”
[I don't think so? Anyway, what specifically should I make up?]
“Just say I hit level 100 today and got an amazing skill. Say I didn't hear the details.”
The 41st-floor record.
Even to her, the person who set it, it was phenomenal.
Seeing that it was attracting attention from foreign media and that there were missed calls like this, it seemed to be quite the topic of conversation domestically as well.
“How's the public opinion?”
[How do you think? People are in an uproar, saying the Association is incompetent because they're being caught up by you even after pouring everything into Hong Jehun.]
“Ha! Serves them right!”
Most countries raise their Awakened evenly.
This is because if even one person goes wrong, the next person must immediately take over and climb the Tower.
However, Korea was not like that.
Only Korea seemed to invest 50% of its resources into the #1 ranker.
And skim 45% off the top in the middle. And invest the remaining 5% into other Awakened.
And what that meant was.
Currently, if Hong Jehun, who receives the full support of the Korean Association, does well, it becomes the achievement of the Association that raised him well.
And if others do well, it becomes a miracle of an individual who grew up well despite the Association's neglect and abandonment.
And Seo Ian did not like the Association's system that demanded that individual miracle at all.
Seo Ian thought the Association should exist for the convenience of the Awakened.
And she also thought that everyone running that Association should be replaced.
[By the way, did you really hit level 100 already?]
A voice so bright it was hard to dampen the mood rang loudly through the gym.
“As if! My level isn't going up!”
For reference, a level of Tower Floor x 2 is called a 'safe level'.
And in most cases, one ends up climbing the Tower without reaching that level.
This is because the amount of experience required to level up increases exponentially as you go!
[Huh? Then did you get a skill book? That's amazing!]
The still-cheerful voice echoed inside the gym.
“Ugh, you're so naive! Hey, do you think that's true?”
However, Ian, knowing that dampening the mood heals faster than the betrayal of being caught in a lie, spoke the truth.
[Then you must have met the rabbit, after all?]
“Yeah.”
An unheard-of record.
Naturally, one would think something must have happened in the Tower. And the most plausible assumption was that she had met the Wandering Merchant Rabbit.
Ian agreed immediately.
[I thought so. I wonder if you're amazing, or if the rabbit is amazing.]
“Honestly, the rabbit is amazing. That thing is a total treasure. I want to monopolize it even if I have to kidnap it.”
Seo Ian genuinely thought so.
The rabbit always made a way in ways she hadn't even thought of.
She would be grateful just for it making a path, but it wasn't just any path—it was a shortcut. No, it even opened up a highway.
If only she could obtain it.
She would be able to aim not just for #1 in South Korea, but #1 in the world with ease.
If that happened, she would go on a world tour and climb Towers all over the world.
Breaking all the Towers with her own hands was the 'best' scenario.
Even if she failed, she would at least be able to buy time for the next generation of Awakened to grow.
That was the 'second-best' scenario.
[Oh, this feels a bit strange, somehow?]
Awakened from her thoughts by the voice over the receiver, she asked back.
“You? Why?”
[I'm an enchanter who is second to none in South Korea, but it feels like all the attention is focused only on the rabbit.]
“Screw off.”
Following that, the sound of light giggling leaked out from both sides of the receiver.
“Hey, you're already monopolized by me, so what does it matter?”
The conference room located on the 12th floor of the Association.
Team Leader Oh Wontaek, who had taken a seat at one end of the long, rectangular table, was burying his head in his hands.
“Why on earth again….”
Everyone in the room was reading the Team Leader's mood.
And rightly so. There were already two issues: the rabbit incident and the Awakened Kim Uju incident.
But as of today, a third issue, the 'Awakened Seo Ian incident,' had suddenly been added.
An absurd Tower clear time that didn't even take 5 minutes.
The clear time for the 41st floor worldwide.
On average, it was in the 40-minute range. The shortest record was in the 28-minute range.
The person who set the 28-minute record was said to have benefited not just from his physical stats, but also from the fact that his compatibility was the exact opposite, which worked well.
“Are you getting a response?”
Oh Wontaek, who had slightly lifted his head, asked Yoon Jinki.
“As you know….”
It meant they weren't answering.
That person did not take calls from the Association.
“Then what about asking Enchanter Park Siwoo? Have you tried?”
Despite being a person belonging to the Association, he was the only one who could at least get in touch with Seo Ian.
“He is not reachable right now either.”
“Why!”
“He is holed up in the production room to produce something!”
“This!”
Team Leader Oh Wontaek lifted his head in surprise.
He thought three things had happened in succession, but four things had happened!
For reference, the 'production room' was like an inviolable sanctuary within the Association.
It was a place where enchanters went to collect materials and make items, and it was a space that should never be disturbed because all materials would evaporate the moment their concentration was broken.
“Is it a weapon, by any chance?!”
While other items take a day or two, weapon types take anywhere from 3 days to nearly a week.
“He didn't say, he just went straight in!”
“Of all times! Ugh… what do I do….”
Team Leader Oh Wontaek covered his face, looking up at the ceiling instead of the desk this time.
That action seemed to represent his complicated feelings.
“Perhaps she met the ‘rabbit’ on the 41st floor? I'm talking about Awakened Seo Ian.”
The female employee who had met Uju when he came to register as an Awakened at the Association previously spoke up.
“Maybe so. No, that's much more credible. Honestly, clearing a Tower above the 10th floor in less than 5 minutes? Isn't that an unprecedented event even if you search the whole world?”
In fact, when Seo Ian's 41st-floor clear record alarm went off today.
Everyone must have been thinking the same thing.
Because it was that absurd.
“But Team Leader!”
This time, Yoon Jinki spoke up.
“Why.”
“The Wandering Merchant Rabbit that appeared suddenly. And Awakened Kim Uju, who appeared around the same time and suddenly stood out. Don't you think there's some connection?”
“…The timing is a bit suspicious, isn't it?”
Oh Wontaek, who had taken his hands off his face, cast his gaze directly at Yoon Jinki as if to tell him to say more.
“It's just a hypothesis, but could the Wandering Merchant Rabbit be an Awakened, not an NPC?”
A plausible story.
But there were a few things that bothered him.
“But can't you not enter the Tower together unless you form a party?”
“Could that be Awakened Kim Uju's trait?”
“There hasn't been such a trait in the whole world until now, has there?”
“Couldn't it have appeared this time? That might be why the Wandering Merchant Rabbit only appears in Korea.”
In fact, even Yoon Jinki, who was speaking, had no certainty.
But couldn't it be? A small doubt had arisen, so he just blurted it out since the topic had come up.
“That could certainly be the case.”
If it came to it, Oh Wontaek actually hoped that was the case.
‘Rabbit’ and ‘Awakened Kim Uju’ are the same person?
Because he could finish the work with one stone and two birds.
Besides, Seo Ian's absurd 41st-floor clear time?
That might be solved as well.
If that happened, it would be one stone and three birds.
Of course, it was a more plausible story that Awakened Kim Uju had met the rabbit on the 2nd floor of the Tower.
But if there was even a 1% chance, it was their job to verify it.
“Yoon Jinki!”
“Yes!”
“Try contacting Awakened Kim Uju first. If possible, have him come to the Association.”
“Yes!”
“And Jo Yunjin.”
“Yes!”
“Keep an eye on when Enchanter Park Siwoo comes out of the production room, and keep trying to contact Seo Ian. She won't answer, but maybe she'll answer by mistake once.”
“Yes! Understood!”
[Name] : Kim Uju
[Level] : 18
“It definitely feels like my level isn't going up as much even though my contribution is high, probably because my level has increased?”
Having returned home, I was checking my status window with a sense of regret.
[Strength] : 11 (7+4)
[Intelligence] : 11 (7+4)
[Agility] : 4
[Luck] : 0
Remaining Ability Points = 0
First, I quickly distributed my stats and then opened the inventory window.
Would you like to use the Random Skill Book Box?
Of course!!
This is the highlight of the day.
When I pressed 'YES', the box shape flashed with light!
Skill Unlocked!
You have obtained the [God of Weakening] skill!
God of Weakening?
Is it a debuff-type skill that weakens the opponent?
S-Rank
Medicine appears, I am medicine itself. You are the God of Weakening itself!
You can use potions, elixirs, etc., up to 2 times overlapping!
The effects are applied twice over!
Reading the detailed information, it seemed this wasn't a debuff-type skill to weaken the opponent, but a buff-type skill that strengthens me with medicine.
'Not bad…?'
It wasn't the attack skill I wanted, but what if it was Rapid Fire strengthened by medicine?
Smooth Tower climbing would be fully possible.
My basic attack power would be strengthened by increasing my Strength stat, and my mana would be overflowing by increasing my Intelligence.
Above all, unlike the detailed description that looks weak, it is an S-Rank skill.
Seeing that the EX-grade trait Intrusion plays its role, wouldn't the S-Rank skill be the same?
I'll have to go in and use it myself to know the details, though.