Unprecedented Rookie (8)
"Seriously, what are you all even doing at this hour?"
Fifty thousand.
Watching the viewer count surge in real time, Eunho couldn't help asking the question aloud.
They had stepped foot inside the Tower only yesterday. After a night's rest at the inn, they had ascended without delay, clearing the 2nd Floor in practically no time at all. Unless his internal clock had shattered completely, it wasn't even lunchtime yet out in the real world. More to the point, it was the middle of a weekday.
Pulling these kinds of numbers at this hour?
Eunho's disbelief immediately sent the chat into a frenzy.
"I mean, I appreciate you guys tuning in and all," Eunho replied, scratching his cheek. "It's just a night-and-day difference from yesterday."
Ah.
The pieces fell into place.
I completely underestimated the power of the internet.
It was the digital information era, after all. News from the exact opposite side of the globe took mere minutes to spread across social feeds. What would happen when a shocking piece of domestic news dropped—a rumor about an unprecedented rookie who butchered an examiner fairy during the tutorial?
It must have spread like wildfire.
Even if his public image had taken a nosedive during that chaotic first broadcast, heated online debates would have erupted and settled while he slept peacefully at the inn. While malice and hate comments were an unavoidable tax on fame, the toxic remarks were barely staying afloat today.
A relentless deluge of fiercely loyal comments crushed any dissenting malicious voices into dust, obliterating them before they could even gain traction.
This is... a little overwhelming.
—Why? Regressor Arin chimed in, sounding thoroughly amused. For someone of your caliber, Eunho, this kind of response is only natural.
I've spent my entire life being ignored, he muttered mentally. I don't think I'll get used to this kind of attention anytime soon.
—Is that so? For someone claiming that, your lips are twitching pretty hard, don't you think?
Eunho glanced toward the spiritual apparition beside him. Though he kept one hand over his mouth, he hadn't managed to hide the smug curl crinkling the corners of his eyes.
Just how much attention did you get back in your timeline?
—Hmm, who knows? At some point I stopped paying attention to the viewer count, so I can't say for sure... but whenever I hit the live button, didn't hundreds of millions tune in?
Hundreds of millions. The scale was dizzying.
"Ah. This is the 2nd Floor," Eunho clarified, addressing the stream. "We actually just wrapped up the clear, so we're getting ready to head up to Floor 3."
"Let's not fight in chat, everyone," Eunho intervened with an easy chuckle. "More importantly, could someone fill me in on what's been happening outside?"
"An unprecedented rookie has emerged. Climber Baek Eunho, a recent graduate of Deungcheon Academy, proved his overwhelming skill by slaying an examiner fairy during the tutorial. Furthermore, it has been revealed that he was previously ranked at the very bottom during his academy days, enduring severe and relentless ostracization."
"Academy faculty members have officially testified that as many as eighty-five students, spearheaded by the former prodigy warrior Kim Duchang (Male, age 20), actively participated in the harassment and slander directed at Baek."
"Netizens who previously left hateful remarks—accusing Baek of extortion and deplorable character during his stream—are rapidly reversing their stances in light of these tragic revelations."
With fifty thousand viewers, messages scrolled past at blistering speed, drowning within seconds. Yet a Climber's superhuman sensory perception easily plucked out the relevant information from the torrent.
In short: the truth had finally come to light.
"Crashed and burned?" Eunho repeated with mild curiosity. "Well... that's hardly surprising. Did something else happen?"
Ah.
So the guy's rotten character was purely genetic. There was certainly no need for a paternity test in that household.
Just as Eunho nodded along to the chat's updates, the focus abruptly shifted.
"Oh. Arin and I grew up in the same orphanage," Eunho explained simply. "Then we both awakened and entered the academy together."
"Yes," Eunho answered readily. "We're challenging the 3rd Floor now."
He did his best to read incoming questions carefully and answer them as naturally as possible.
—Look at you trying so hard to be professional! Regressor Arin purred playfully from his shoulder. *Sniff, inhale.* Ah, that fresh, adorable rookie scent.
Letting her habitual teasing slide right through one ear and out the other, Eunho walked toward the cave entrance ahead. Turning slightly, he glanced at the girl beside him.
"By the way, Arin... aren't you going to turn your stream on?"
"Mm? Not really."
Watching the chat flare like dry tinder tossed into a fire, Eunho tilted his head in mild bewilderment. Right then, a faint, rhythmic tingling prickled across his forearm.
It was present-day Arin's holy power.
Right... this was the code we practiced using energy pulses.
Like a silent Morse code, pulses of power tapped against the skin at measured intervals to convey quiet thoughts. Translating her taps, the message spelled out:
You. Coin. Shortage.
She hadn't turned on her broadcast because doing so would split his viewership, diminishing his coin earnings.
—Oho! Regressor Arin cooed theatrically. Do you see that, Eunho? That is pure main-wife behavior right there! Don't you dare let your eyes wander, okay?
Ignoring the spirit's relentless gaslighting, Eunho tapped a silent sequence of pulses back across Arin's wrist.
Thank you. Repay. Kindness.
Though tens of thousands watched through the stream screen, the subtle pulses of energy exchanged between them belonged strictly to their own world, dancing across their skin in private warmth.
At the farthest threshold of the 2nd Floor stood a cavern. Its gaping maw was clearly visible to the naked eye, yet an invisible barrier denied entry. Resting directly before that barrier sat a solitary treasure chest.
◈ Bound Equipment
◈ Inflicts status condition [Silence] upon the wearer.
◈ Increases a chosen resistance stat upon being equipped.
When he lifted the latch, the boots lay nestled inside.
So this is the floor clear reward.
Eunho inspected the item's properties.
—Not bad, Regressor Arin assessed.
Really?
—Yeah. The forced status ailment is the only catch, but being able to raise a specific resistance stat on demand is huge. It'll serve you well in the early floors.
Stashing the boots into his inventory upon her advice, Eunho completed all preparations for the next stage. He stepped toward the cavern entrance. The moment his boots crossed the threshold, another prompt materialized in midair.
[An easy path, but devoid of rewards.]
[An arduous path, laden with bountiful rewards.]
The latter.
The achievement, 'Unprecedented Rookie', smiles warmly.
With that final response, the space before them twisted and unfurled. What had seemed sharp yet disconnected—like watching high-definition footage on a screen—gradually took on physical texture and presence. The heavy humidity unique to deep caverns brushed against their skin, while the hollow drip of distant water echoed rhythmically against their eardrums.
You have entered the 3rd Floor, 'Devolution and Evolution Hang by a Thread'.
"Ah," Eunho addressed the floating screen. "It's likely due to an achievement I earned. Whenever I climb to a new floor, it prompts me, asking whether I want to take the harder route or the easy one."
"Yes."
"That's right. The 2nd Floor was the same."
"Considering the public sentiment yesterday, streaming immediately didn't seem wise," he said dryly.
Maintaining a steady conversation with his viewers, Eunho advanced along the rocky path. Even as he spoke, his inner energy seeped outwards, permeating the surrounding gloom like a gossamer web.
Hmm. The next fork is to the right.
A subtle vibration resonated through the air.
"Were the monsters on the 3rd Floor cave wolves?" he asked casually.
The viewers' descriptions aligned precisely with standard knowledge: ferocious in temperament, yet devoid of natural weaponry capable of inflicting lethal harm on a Climber. Their defensive prowess, however, was formidable enough that only those who knew how to manipulate mana properly could put them down.
The Tower designs floors up to the 3rd to foster fundamental growth.
In other words, the first three floors served as the Tower's test of basic competency. Eunho's fingers lightly grazed the hilt of the sword resting at his waist.
Wuuung—
A faint vibration traveled into his palm—the hum of the conceptual blade thirsting for mana.
I've already mastered basic mana manipulation. So what exactly does this enhanced difficulty demand?
As he pondered the question and stepped forward, the life form caught in his sensory radius finally emerged into plain sight.
Grrrrrr...
A savage, guttural rasp scraped from its throat. A rancid, foul stench drifted through the air, thick with saliva dripping in thick ropes from its jaws. And nestled inside that maw, catching the faint luminous moss of the cavern walls, was a row of jagged, needle-sharp teeth.
Just as the chat pointed out, the beast was far too massive to be considered an ordinary cave wolf, exuding an aura of raw savagery that bordered on overwhelming.
Even Regressor Arin let out a low whistle of surprise.
—Whoa. That beast looks tougher than most of the goblins on Floor 4.
Indeed.
The monster guarding the 3rd Floor—under a modified, punitive difficulty that made it deadlier than a 4th Floor inhabitant—slowly coiled its muscular haunches, locking its predator's gaze onto the intruders.