Class (4)
Hyun Si-woon's head was a tangle of thoughts.
The Weaver who chose one's class…
The extreme terror that being had shown, and the special class called EndSeeker as well…
His mind was pure chaos.
The members, meanwhile, were excitedly sharing what they had each experienced.
"You guys ended up in a place like a temple too, right? The one with all those statues lined up."
"Yeah!"
"Ah, hyeong-nim! I saw you! I was wondering why there were seven statues, so I walked the whole circle. The Spirit Master was you!"
"Oh, for real…? I was too out of it to check any statues but my own. That's wild."
"I saw it too. Right next to the hunter with the bow—oppa was standing there, plain as day."
From what the members were saying, it seemed they had all gone to the same place.
Then what about the timeline?
Hyun Si-woon sank into thought for a moment. He had been locked in a standoff with that unknown entity for what felt like forever. The members had surely seen the same creature…
Could it be a being that transcended even time itself?
"It's probably because I'm the pioneer," Si-woon said, brushing it off with a vague excuse.
Fortunately, the members didn't dig any deeper and steered the conversation toward the new abilities they had gained. One by one, they shared the classes they had received and the class skills that came with them.
"Once I became an Iron Man, I got a class skill called Steel Body. When you take a hit, there's a set chance your body hardens and the damage from that attack drops massively. I can start tanking more aggressively now."
Baek Yeon-ho rapped his own arm with his knuckles, full of admiration.
"Mine's Berserker's Blood! Defense drops by fifty percent, but attack power doubles! Definitely a barbarian warrior thing—no holding back."
"Spearman gave me something called Flowing Dance. Dodge an enemy's attack and your next strike is guaranteed to crit. I'm going to train around that from now on."
"I got Hawk's Eye. It says I can see an enemy's vital points as faint red lights."
"Oh."
"Seriously?"
Everyone marveled at Kang Si-a's explanation. She already possessed archery that bordered on the divine. And now she could see weak points on top of that accuracy?
"That one looks pretty good."
"Totally a Si-a specialty skill."
"Mine's Touch of Purification. It gradually reduces harmful effects on a target."
Baek Do-hee, too, had received an ability befitting a priest. Every single one of them was a gem of a skill.
Someone might scoff that it was only one skill—but those skills stacked, and that was how gaps were born.
"But hyeong-nim, why aren't you saying anything?"
Hwang Dae-un asked. Now that he mentioned it, Si-woon alone had been quiet.
"Yeah, Si-woon. What class did you pick? Martial Artist, obviously, right?"
At Jang Cha-yul's question, everyone nodded. Who was Hyun Si-woon, after all? The very source of the martial arts they all used!
"Right."
Si-woon tossed out the lie casually.
"The skill is Primordial Unified Qi Art. It's a basic internal energy method—massively boosts qi recovery speed and circulation efficiency."
He recited a skill he had obtained long ago in the Tower of Despair, completely unfazed. He planned to imprint the ultimate forms of Moon Spirit Swordsmanship into his skill imprinting anyway. Since he intended to rely mostly on martial arts, it wasn't a complete lie. For now, this was the best cover he could manage.
In a situation where I still don't know exactly what's going on, talking too much would only give me a headache.
He decided he would discuss this part with Ha-wol later, separately.
"Alright, next—let's move on to secondary jobs."
Secondary jobs were straightforward.
There were six secondary jobs in the Tower of Despair.
Blacksmith, Tailor, Carpenter, Jeweler, Alchemist, and Chef.
It went without saying that the most efficient approach was for the six climbers of a party to each take a different one.
If there was overlap? Materials would compete, and building proficiency would become a struggle.
Moreover, the secondary jobs were organically linked. The weapons and armor a blacksmith forged needed the tough leather straps and linings a tailor made; a carpenter's bows required the bowstrings a tailor produced. The enchanted accessories a jeweler crafted could raise the crafting success rates of every other job, while an alchemist's potions and a chef's buff foods maximized efficiency in both hunting and production.
"I never properly ran secondary jobs myself, so I don't know them well. If anyone has a job they're drawn to, raise your hand and give your reason. If the rest of the members all buy it, that settles it."
At his proposal, the members' eyes lit up. For people who had only ever followed what their leader decided, the chance to choose for themselves was something new.
"What do you want to do, hyeong-nim?"
"Me?"
Si-woon stroked his chin.
Which one would be the most efficient?
Brat.
Ha-wol's voice rang through his mind.
Hm?
What are you fretting over? Obviously blacksmith.
Blacksmith?
The higher you climb the tower—the closer you draw to the world of Rankers—the thing of highest value is, in the end, power. And the foundation of power is the weapon. Choose the path that can create the greatest value.
Yeah? Alright, then.
This time he decided to follow Ha-wol's words—partly because he hadn't been particularly set on anything else.
"I'm taking blacksmith."
"Oh, blacksmith?"
"Why?"
At the members' questions, Si-woon shrugged.
"Just looks cool."
"…"
Hwang Dae-un blinked.
"Ah—ahaha! If hyeong-nim says so, then that's that! Great! Blacksmith's taken, then—shall we sort out the remaining five among ourselves?"
"Me!"
The first to raise her hand was Jang Cha-yul. For once, her eyes were burning with drive.
"I'll take tailor. Tailors make clothes, right? Our combat gear is always torn up and frayed—it looks awful. If we're going to fight anyway, I want to make cooler, lighter gear. Everyday clothes too, and bags. And I've got a decent eye for fashion."
Even as she spoke, Jang Cha-yul was painting the future in her head. Not the beggar look they had now—posting pictures of them hunting in the gorgeous outfits she had made, up on the community boards.
Ahh.
Just imagining it sent a thrill through her whole body.
Black base with each person's symbol embroidered in silver thread… hawk wings on Si-a's clothes, bear paw prints on Dae-un's… building everyone's trademarks that way. Kyaa, perfect.
The name: the Dragon Savior Collection!
She had already finished the concept for her own luxury brand.
"Pff."
A laugh slipped out before she could stop it, and the members' gazes all swung her way. No one asked any further questions. Anyone could see that tailor was the right fit for Jang Cha-yul.
"Yeah, noona, you take tailor. Please take it."
Baek Yeon-ho shook his head from side to side, then added,
"And alchemist should be Do-hee noona, right?"
"Me?"
Baek Do-hee tilted her head, and Hwang Dae-un chimed in agreement.
"That tracks, noonim! Alchemists mainly make potions and elixirs, right? It goes perfectly with priest!"
The others nodded. No objections.
One by one, the rest were decided that way. The result looked like this:
Blacksmith — Hyun Si-woon
Tailor — Jang Cha-yul
Carpenter — Hwang Dae-un
Jeweler — Kang Si-a
Alchemist — Baek Do-hee
Chef — Baek Yeon-ho
Hwang Dae-un took carpenter. For reasons no one could quite pin down, the image simply suited him—and it turned out his grandfather had run a woodworking shop when he was young. There would surely be some matching aptitude in his blood.
Kang Si-a took jeweler. Jewelry work meant cutting gems and crafting precise ornaments—delicate work that demanded focus, and the members agreed she was perfect for it.
The last remaining job, chef, went to Baek Yeon-ho.
"Good. Then it's all settled. Everyone tear your selection tickets and pick your secondary jobs. And that's it for today's meeting. Rest or do some personal training on your own."
"Yes, sir!"
"Okay!"
The members pulled out their secondary job selection tickets and began to scatter one by one.
Riiip!
Hyun Si-woon tore his selection ticket as well.
Blinding light swallowed his vision once more, and he was transported somewhere.
Not a temple this time.
A workshop?
At the center of the space stood a massive round table, and arranged upon it were six symbolic tools, each in its place.
A giant hammer, a sewing machine, a plane, a jeweler's loupe, a bubbling flask, and a frying pan.
Select the tool of the secondary job you desire.
Without hesitation, Si-woon picked up the hammer.
Selecting secondary job: Blacksmith.
You have become a Low-rank Blacksmith (Lv.1).
At the same time, a new window appeared before his eyes.
The Beginning of Tempering
📍 Objective: Craft the most basic tool—a Low-rank Hammer (Normal)—and prove your fundamental qualifications as a blacksmith. (0/100)
🎁 Reward: Low-rank Blacksmith Lv.2
"Hah."
It had been a long time. That insane grind of making a hundred of something right from the start.
And with that, he was back in the conference room.
I'll put this off for later.
Si-woon had no intention of swinging a hammer right this second. Closing the quest window, he walked to the sofa and set the Formless Sword down on the table.
From the blade, Ha-wol's spirit form rose in a soft drift and flopped down on one end of the sofa.
"Brat."
Ha-wol crossed her legs and folded her arms.
"You've looked like you've had a great deal to say since earlier. Come—unburden yourself to this lady."
"Hah… yeah. Listen to this."
Si-woon immediately laid out everything that had happened in the class selection grounds. The enormous loom. How that being had tried to forcibly steer him—and how it had suddenly shaken with extreme terror and offered up a class of its own creation. He added that the feeling of it had seemed similar to the Librarian of the Spiral Library as well.
"Is that truly so?"
Ha-wol wore an expression of disbelief.
"You heard an Administrator's voice."
"Administrator?"
"Ah—that is merely a name I coined. Living beings native to the tower must always pass through the process of ascent, starting from the first floor. That is the rule. But there are those who do not. The Executors standing before the tower, for example. Such ones are neither Rankers nor Climbers. I call those ones Administrators."
"Ah…"
"Those so-called Administrators… simply existed from the beginning."
Ha-wol's voice sank low.
"They were there in ancient times, and likely even before that. They may have come into being alongside the tower itself. Even in the records of distant ancestral Rankers, their existence was always mentioned. Ah—do you know this?"
"What?"
"The Tower Lord. Even that one is ultimately a Ranker who completed the climb. He is not the Tower Lord because he is the tower's true master—the first place in the rankings simply is the Tower Lord. But Administrators? They are not Rankers… No one knows their true nature. Where they came from, what their purpose is—even how many of them there are."
"…"
Si-woon swallowed hard.
"This lady believes the voice that guided the class selection was one of those Administrators as well. But you said you saw that being's form, did you not? That it was a Weaver?"
"It was like a spider sitting at a loom."
"Hah."
Ha-wol closed her eyes.
Whatever the case—her disciple clearly possessed a special ability. That much was certain.
Even so.
For an Administrator to feel terror…
Just what is this disciple of mine?
"To be frank, even I do not know what it is you experienced. But one thing is certain."
"What?"
"It is exceedingly interesting."
Ha-wol's eyes gleamed. A fierce curiosity—the kind of hunger for inquiry that High Rankers always seemed to carry.
"This lady will gladly serve as the tip of your blade. So let us climb the tower. The path you walk—what lies at its end. This lady is most curious as well."
Hyun Si-woon and Ha-wol reached a decision together.
For now, they would make the fullest use of what they had been given and climb.
And soon—
they would also seek out the Librarian of the Spiral Library.