Tower Coin Jackpot and the World's Shock

"Ooh!"

Tower Coins at 50 times the amount.

The Tower basically hands out Tower Coins every time you clear a floor.

100 coins for Floor 1. 200 for Floor 2. 500 for Floor 5. 3,000 for Floor 30.

First clears give floor number x100 coins. Repeat clears give less and less.

'That's why eventually, no more coins drop from that floor.'

It's not just coins. Clear scores work the same way. They diminish on repeats.

Like a vein running dry—no more ore to mine.

That's one of the main reasons Awakeners have to keep climbing higher floors.

"Tower Coins x50? Is that good?"

"Hell yeah! Kinda sucks it popped on Floor 1, but it's currency you can use for growth anyway."

With Tower Coins, you can access your class-specific shop and buy all sorts of stuff.

Add traits to skills. Buy dedicated gear. Reinforce equipment. And so on.

"Ah! It's like the Blood Jade shop!"

"Blood Jade shop?"

"Yeah! We got Blood Jades every time we cleared a floor in the Tower! Shopped with 'em and everything."

Blood Jade? Blood orb? Something vampire-related with blood, probably.

He figured each planet picked its symbolic resource as the key item.

Floor 1 clear is 100 coins base. 50 times that is 5,000.

'If only it'd been Floor 20.'

That'd be 100,000 coins.

Eh, whatever. No point dwelling—it's still better than a dud top-grade Mana Stone, which is basically trash-tier luck.

Plus, a massive haul for Floor 1 standards.

Now he could start rolling the snowball. Way earlier than anyone else.

'Yeah, when you think about it, not bad at all.'

Shop with the coins. Boost combat power right away. Rack up higher scores on Floor 2.

Higher extra reward odds. His happy circuit was spinning like mad.

"Spend it now!"

"Right? Money's meant to be spent!"

The list ended at three items. All Carmina gear.

Probably because his level was low and his only skill was Planet Exploration.

Ring, necklace, cloak. Vampire roots run deep with the cloak, huh.

"Ah! My stuff! I thought I'd lost it all in the fights!"

Carmina's eyes sparkled.

"Pick one."

"Ahh, really? I can? Then the necklace! Necklace is the best!"

"Evasion and perception reduction. Solid choice."

His hand shot toward the cloak purchase button without a second thought.

Thud!

Carmina grabbed it in a panic.

"No, not the cloak—the necklace!"

"Vampires need cloaks. Necklace? That's not even proper gear."

"That thing's so drab, I hardly ever wore it anyway."

"Then why keep it? Yeah, the design's ugly, agreed."

"Dad gave it to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me as a gift."

"A fine vintage cloak with real character. Can't compare it to some worn-out silver necklace."

Huh? Wait a sec. Silver necklace?

He asked urgently.

"Isn't silver a vampire weakness?"

"My weak spot's my side. Super ticklish."

"Doesn't it burn your skin on contact? Hurt like hell?"

"Not really?"

Carmina tilted her head. She looked genuinely confused by the question.

"……."

"???"

Something was collapsing. Some world line was breaking down.

Finally, the inner Discomfort Dragon couldn't hold back its roar.

"Garlic doesn't scare you! Silver doesn't! You don't even drink blood! What kind of vampire is that?!"

"Kyahaha!"

He jabbed her side.

As she collapsed in hysterics, he reached for the cloak button.

"Kyaa! W-wait, Master! Early floors are all one-shots anyway! Cast speed matters more for scores!"

He paused.

Ding!

Honestly, he'd thought the same. Necklace for cast speed was the right call.

His obsessive symbolism kink had just short-circuited his brain for a sec.

'Score's what matters most.'

Reason barely wrestled instinct to the ground.

Still, the discomfort lingered. He eyed Carmina dubiously.

"Heehee, found my lost necklace. But do your vampire pals back home fear garlic and silver? They're such weirdos!"

You're the weirdo. Definitely from some Temu planet.

She put the necklace on and off. Test-fired blood needles.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

"Whoa! Master! See? This is the cast speed boost in action!"

"Ooooh!"

The difference was obvious even to him. Solid pick indeed.

Rumor had it clear time had the biggest impact on scores.

Maybe he could aim for second-by-second clears on the low floors?

"But... that's your blood."

Didn't she say her stomach was sensitive earlier?

"My blood's fine! Drinking's tough, but using it? No problem!"

"You sure you don't drink anyone's blood? Yours or otherwise?"

"Drank a bit as a kid, but my tastes changed growing up. Hee."

He still didn't quite buy it. Better watch out while sleeping.

He glanced around briefly. Turned to his Tower-veteran ally.

"Shall we head out? Anything we missed here?"

"Looks good to me!"

He mentally chanted Tower exit. His view shifted, and the room reappeared.

"Phew."

Desk, bed, wardrobe. Everything just as he'd left it.

Thud.

Tension released; he flopped into the chair. Clock showed not even past midnight.

'Wrapped it all up in under five minutes.'

Normal runs without prep took hours of grinding.

Was this for real? Not a dream, right?

'Not a dream.'

The bold EX etched clear as day. Level up from Floor 1 clear, too.

From 0 to 1. Thanks to Carmina's MVP performance.

"Master! Pizza!"

Her Highness wanted pizza? No problem.

Whirr—ding!

One more spin in the microwave, served to the vampire princess.

"Nom nom."

That good, huh?

Wonder what she'd do with fancy brand pizza later.

While she savored modern frozen food bliss, he checked his skills.

Right, before entering the Tower, Nosferatu got added to the codex.

Nothing special to note. Same description as when he picked the planet.

But then.

Ding!

Oh, nice.

He checked the sub-functions tied to Planet Exploration one by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one.

1. Ally Recruitment (Unavailable) Previous planet must be restored to scout and recruit from the next.

Unavailable, as expected.

'No way they'd let you snag another powerhouse that easily.'

Like a gacha game.

First pull's free. Then it costs.

He was already hooked on dopamine from Carmina's strength.

Gimme! Next ally! Hurry!

'Thought it'd have a long cooldown or cost Tower Coins to reuse.'

Planet Restoration? Let's see.

2. Item Transfer (Locked) Unlocks at Awakener Lv. 5. 3. Planet Restoration (Locked) Unlocks at Awakener Lv. 10.

He knew they were locked. No details either.

'Got a rough idea, though.'

He turned and asked.

"Carmina, know anything about my skills?"

"Nom nom, nope? The info they injected was just rough Earth life basics."

Cheese stretched looong.

"One thing's sure: If Nosferatu had just this 'pizza,' no clan wars would've happened!"

Eat up.

Anyway, unlocks at Lv. 5 and 10. One floor a day? Piece of cake.

Wouldn't be long before he unlocked those sub-functions.

A few minutes later, midnight hit. Pizza gone in a flash.

"Floor 2 tomorrow after some sleep? Fresh mind and all."

Next morning.

Beep, click!

He headed out for his part-time gig.

Last night, housing the vampire solved itself surprisingly easy.

"Sleep? I just slip into any shadow I see!"

"Don't even need to sleep for activity, really. Always clear-headed. But sleeping makes it even clearer."

Then poof—into the shadow.

He'd half-hoped for a coffin summon.

A bit disappointing... but on second thought, this was a massive advantage.

Lots of jobs summon beings for power: spirit summoners, tamers, necromancers, etc.

'But they all got downsides.'

Common weakness: summon time limits.

Expires eventually. Cooldown before recall.

Summoner classes had peak and weak timings.

But Carmina?

Stays home. No sleep needed. Shadow form too.

In other words: 24/7 bodyguard from someone way stronger than an S-rank Awakener.

'How reassuring is this?'

Tower emergence brought Awakener crime.

Powers work outside Towers too.

Agency worked overtime to crush crime rates, but incidents still happened—better safe.

Now? Total peace of mind. Even if something went down.

Step, step, step.

His shadow swayed with his steps. Carmina hid inside.

—Whoa, bus! Whoa, scooter! Whoa, vending machine! Whoa, toast stand!

Her voice echoed in his head.

She could see surroundings from the shadow, apparently. Thrilled by Earth sights.

'Gotta take her on a proper street tour when I got time.'

Step, step.

Bus stop drawing near. Rush hour crowds.

Waiting for the bus.

Thud!

"Wh-what? Our country... world ranking 1st...? On Floor 1...?"

A middle-aged guy dropped his briefcase while staring at his phone.

Everyone else whipped out theirs, frantically checking the net.