Unprecedented Rookie (6)
High risk, high return.
If we were to explain it with a phrase everyone already knows, this one probably fits best.
'Will you choose the hard road and claim greater rewards, or take the easy road and settle for less?'
The Unprecedented Rookie achievement was asking him exactly that.
“Eunho?”
Having sensed something strange, Arin's expression stiffened as well — both Regressor Arin and present-day Arin.
Eunho spoke up to reassure the two of them.
“Looks like it's because of my achievement. It's asking whether I want to take the hard path or the easy one.”
-What's the difference?
“Ah, the hard path comes with rewards. The easy one doesn't.”
-Even the easy path won't be completely empty-handed. The Tower's standard rewards should be the same.
“Sounds like it's talking about the additional rewards. High risk, high return — the phrase fits perfectly.”
At Eunho's words, the two women's opinions split.
“Shouldn't we take the easy path? We're climbers who just set foot in the Tower. There's no telling what variables might pop up.”
-You have to pick the hard one. Achievements are things the Tower gives out in the end, too. No matter how unfriendly the Tower is, it never lies. The same goes for rewards. You can only climb higher if you seize a chance when it comes.
“Hmm.”
Eunho found merit in both of their arguments.
As present-day Arin said, they were nothing more than rookie climbers who had just entered the Tower.
He knew how the Tower operated, but he had yet to feel it in his own two hands.
And yet Regressor Arin's opinion couldn't be dismissed either.
She was, by every measure, a Tower ranker who had shattered every existing record in the Tower before her regression.
Such a person's vision would surely be fixed on a far higher place than their own.
After a brief moment of deliberation, Eunho reached his conclusion.
“Arin.”
Their names were the same, but she understood at once who he was calling. There had to be a reason he bothered to call out loud.
“…What is it?”
Present-day Arin answered immediately. Eunho looked at her as though deeply apologetic, then continued.
“I think we should take the hard path. If it seems too dangerous, you can leave the party for a while. We can just meet up on a later floor.”
“…I don't want that. I'm coming with you.”
“Thank you. But don't worry. If it gets dangerous, I'll use spiritual power.”
Eunho had insurance.
Solid insurance in the form of a regressor's power.
'The problem is the backlash that comes with using it.'
He'd felt it when he used it against the fallen fairy not long ago — that repeated use would eventually eat into his very body and break it.
And not a temporary wound, but permanent damage.
'I'll use it as sparingly as possible. Unless it's a truly desperate, life-or-death situation.'
Steeling his resolve, Eunho chose the hard path. At the same time, the pitch-dark scenery around them began to shift little by little.
As if eyelids were lifting and light was seeping back onto the retina, brightness gradually fell over them, and the natural landscape welcomed their arrival.
Vegetation as dense as the 1st Floor's Starting Village — and beyond it, far in the distance, a single swamp.
This was the 2nd Floor's scenery.
Difficulty has been increased.
Entering Floor 2 (+), the Deep Slime Swamp.
-Doesn't look that different to me?
“Fair enough. Not much different from the video walkthroughs.”
The 2nd Floor's strategy was simple.
All you had to do was fight the slimes living around the swamp as you pushed forward, until you arrived at the cave that appeared at the end.
-Still, it's got the 'Deep' modifier attached, so be careful. Even I've never seen anything like this.
'Okay.'
Something the regressor had never seen — in other words, a floor with no known strategy.
From now on, they would have to climb on their own merits, without the regressor's cheat sheet.
That was fine. They couldn't lean on a regressor forever.
A climber ought to be able to fend for themselves. Otherwise, the gap would only widen the higher they went.
'Floor 34. Up to there, Arin's power works.'
Which meant their insurance lasted until floor 34.
Within that window, he would hone his skill as a climber. If you wanted efficiency, you had to squeeze every last drop.
“Eunho. Are you turning on the stream?”
“Streaming, huh.”
At Arin's question, Eunho mulled it over, then shook his head.
“Let's hold off for now. Nothing worth showing anyway. I'll turn it on on the next floor.”
There was no telling what aftershocks that last broadcast might bring.
Right now he just wanted to focus on sharpening his skills as a climber. Getting his feelings hurt watching the hate roll into the chat window for no reason? No thanks.
“Got it.”
Arin, who understood exactly what he meant, nodded. And with that, all the preparations were done.
“Let's go.”
Eunho, who had naturally become the party's leader and vanguard, stepped forward.
By the unwritten rule among climbers, scouting should fall to a Ranger — but unfortunately, their party had no Ranger. What could you do? Someone had to fill the role.
“Halt.”
Eunho raised a hand and stopped their advance. Something had snagged his keen senses.
-Hm.
Regressor Arin simply watched him.
She'd help if things got truly dangerous, but she respected his wishes.
She had no intention of stealing the soil in which he could grow.
“Something's in the underbrush.”
Eunho fiddled with his status window. Inventory — from that box whose capacity grew with a climber's skill, he drew a single sword.
A Trainee Adventurer's Sword.
One of the weapons Eunho had bought at the Unmanned Shop.
Gripping the hilt, he swung. Shhk! Grass sheared apart, and the thing hiding within shot up into the open air.
Blorp—!
A wobbling, jelly-like creature that landed with a strange sound, like pudding dropped onto a plate.
No need to say it — it was a slime, explicitly named in this floor's title.
“…But do slimes usually look like that?”
“Ugh… gross.”
The slime's body was a translucent brown, and within it floated an eyeball, organs, and bone-like fragments.
And that wasn't all. Two tentacles, presumably arms, sprouted from its sides.
In the broadcasts of climbers who'd cleared the Tower, slimes had looked fairly cute — so why was the one facing them so grotesque?
This was how the increased difficulty made itself felt.
“Could that be some kind of higher species or something?”
“…No. I don't even want to meet a real higher species.”
Watching present-day Arin grimace in disgust, Regressor Arin smiled fondly.
-Look at her? I used to get all green and queasy like that too, you know.
'Why are you reacting like such an old lady?'
-What?! Old lady?! An OLD LADY?! I'm just experienced, that's all! Ah, but I don't have any of the other kind of experience, so rest easy~
He'd been habitually teased, but Eunho had learned to let it slide.
Talking to her rarely got him anywhere anyway.
And since he had to keep an eye out for follow-up attacks, conversations with Regressor Arin usually meant reading several moves ahead.
“It's coming.”
Eunho gripped the sword with both hands. One of the tentacles sprouting from the slime's side had slapped the ground.
As if they'd become legs, the slime lifted its body.
Its mass drew back, and the two tentacles rooted into the earth stretched taut.
Twang!
The moment its body touched down, the slime launched itself like a slingshot.
“Arin!”
“Yes!”
Arin's holy power flowed into him.
Holy power, specialized in purification and blessing.
As if to prove those words, Eunho instantly felt as though his body had grown lighter.
Senses already honed to a fine edge sharpened just a little further.
Eunho's eyes narrowed, and the world he perceived shrank in turn. The onrushing slime fell into that shrunken world.
'Whew.'
He steadied his breathing.
Inhale — draw in mana. Exhale — dam up the mana straining to escape.
A half-finished circuit.
Within it, he manipulated his mana. The flowing mana gathered into the blade, trembling finely — a hum that sounded just like the beating of a bee's wings.
Eunho's sword swung.
Vuuuum—!
A sword that mimicked a bee's wingbeat.
It was far too fierce for a rookie who'd entered the Tower mere weeks ago.
Splurt!
The flying slime split in two and lost all its momentum.
Splat—
Filthy refuse hit the ground, losing its form and melting away like water.
-Eunho! With slimes, if you don't take out the core— …huh?
“Core? You mean this?”
Eunho held up his sword and showed it to Regressor Arin. At the sword's very tip sat a white pearl, skewered with perfect precision.
“It was floating around inside, and when I tried to cut it, it ran away. So I pierced it… this is the core, right?”
-Yes… yes, it is.
Regressor Arin realized it all over again. The man she was watching was a talent without precedent.
'How did he pierce the core in a single strike? He shouldn't even have a swordsmanship skill. No, wait — wasn't he supposed to be bad with weapon arts?!'
Whatever she imagined, he showed her something beyond it.
At the sight of him, Regressor Arin felt not just admiration but outright elation.
'He really might be able to conquer the Tower!'
She had thought it a dream still impossibly far from humanity.
But no.
The moment he set foot in the Tower, perhaps humanity had been swept into an enormous current.
While Regressor Arin drifted between awe and elation, Eunho was suddenly staring at the messages that had appeared before him.
The trait Great Late Bloomer is forging its vessel.
The skill Swordsmanship (E+) has been created!
He'd gained a swordsmanship skill.
With a skill now actively assisting his body, even the feel of gripping a sword was transformed.
Just as Eunho was taking in the sensation, another message chimed in rapid succession.
Your swordsmanship exceeds what Swordsmanship (E+) can contain.
Swordsmanship (E+) has been upgraded to Swordsmanship (C-)!