Sword God (2)
Naturally, Hyun Si-woon pressed her for everything she knew about the Tower of Despair.
The Sword God had once been a Climber herself.
Surely, then, she would understand the cause of this phenomenon—and the ecosystem that came with it.
But?
"I'm sorry. I can speak of the world after the climb is finished, but every scrap of information about the climb itself is sealed. Disclosure is forbidden."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because some exalted someone inside the Tower laid down the rule, that's why. The climb is to be fair. Strategy against the Tower, monster weaknesses—none of it may ever be spoken."
"…Then just tell me about the world after the climb."
"You're being a nuisance. It's something you'll learn the moment you become a Ranker, anyway…"
"Want me to put you back in?"
Whoosh, whoosh.
Si-woon sliced the empty air with the sword.
"…"
Ha-wol's protruding lips twitched.
"Huuuuh… how in the world did this lady end up in such a state! Fine. Even if that bastard exiled me, he isn't so petty as to be that strict about this."
"That bastard?"
"There is one. The current master of this Tower. Ranked first among all Rankers—the king they call the Tower Lord…"
Ha-wol's face twisted with something close to dread as she recalled the being. Then she began to explain.
First of all—
the world she had lived in had followed a path not unlike Earth's.
A tower had suddenly appeared, and every manner of monster had set about destroying the world.
Only those who challenged the Tower could escape that ruin…
"This lady was a genius among geniuses. I became a Climber, and I climbed the Tower in short order."
"How many floors?"
"…Did I not just say? Nothing—nothing at all—about the climb may be disclosed. Just listen."
Damn.
He'd only wanted to know how many floors there were to the top.
Apparently even that was off-limits.
"Got it."
Step by step, he walked toward their residence in the Blind Zone while she continued.
In any case—
the moment the climb was complete, one became a Ranker of the Tower.
The authority gained then was on an entirely different level from a Climber's, and with it came infinite lifespan.
"You don't die?"
"Correct. Every Ranker is an immortal. That is why this lady did not die—why she was banished while sealed inside the sword she once wielded."
Ha-wol's expression turned bitter.
Si-woon did not dig further into that.
It was personal, and if it ever became necessary, she would tell him herself. It was a small courtesy toward the companion he would be walking with from now on.
It might have been a painful past, after all.
"At any rate, this lady has only one thing to say to you."
"Yeah."
"Climb the Tower as fast as you can. And outside the Tower as well—live carefully, keep your head down. Showing off can wait until after you become a Ranker. Remember that. Understood?"
"Got it."
Hyun Si-woon was, by nature, a modest man.
He had never been the type to stand out, and he certainly wasn't the sort who strutted around drunk on his own excellence the way Ha-wol feared.
Not showing off? Easy enough.
He figured he could manage that without trouble.
At least—
that was what he believed right up until he reached the Blind Zone.
But then?
A restless murmur filled the air.
The residential district he had arrived in was in an uproar.
What's going on?
He sheathed the sword at his hip and quickened his pace.
A crowd had gathered around Zone 2, where the convenience facilities were concentrated.
"You piece of shit who isn't even human! We almost all died because of you!"
Huh?
Si-woon's eyes went wide.
That was a voice he knew.
Yeon-ho hyung?
His steps accelerated.
When he arrived—good god.
Baek Yeon-ho's party was facing off against Yu Jae-jun and Choi Geon-woo.
Oh, for crying out loud.
Si-woon pressed a hand to his forehead.
Of course emotions would boil over. It was true that Yu Jae-jun's flight had nearly gotten the whole party killed.
"So what are you gonna do about it? Think that pitiful little shield of yours can take me on?"
"You son of a bitch!"
And just like that, the fight broke out.
"H-hey, fighting here is against the rules!"
"Stop it, both of you!"
Bystanders and staff tried to intervene, but it was useless.
An already-enraged Baek Yeon-ho charged in, and Yu Jae-jun raised his spear and slipped the blow aside.
"Oppa."
Kang Si-a approached from somewhere and spoke quietly.
"You're here?"
"What happened?"
"Somehow Yu Jae-jun's side ended up using this camp too."
"…"
Fine. He understood there were feelings that needed venting—but if at all possible, they ought to take it outside, by the rules…
Thud!
That was the moment.
Yu Jae-jun deflected Baek Yeon-ho's dash and smashed the shaft of his spear into the other man's gut.
"Guh!"
Baek Yeon-ho cried out under the impact.
They were roughly equal in skill, but the difference in weapons made the outcome inevitable.
"No!"
Baek Do-hee stepped in with her staff to block—
Thud!
This time Choi Geon-woo stepped forward and kicked her hard in the stomach.
"…"
At that, Si-woon felt a flicker of real anger.
These people were now members of his team—his territory. Watching a pair of bastards he'd always found repulsive turn even more violent made irritation surge through him.
"That's enough."
Shing!
He drew his sword and walked in between them—
"You fool! You fool!"
Ha-wol's spirit form floated above and tried to stop him.
"Don't tell me you mean to brawl with trash like that? This lady warned you clearly. Outside the Tower, living quietly is the only answer. If a scrub like you gets himself killed, who is supposed to recover this lady's power?!"
She rattled on, but none of it reached Si-woon's ears.
Instead—
"Well, well, look who it is!"
Yu Jae-jun's voice sank into them with perfect clarity.
"If it isn't the hero of Ghost Horse. No wonder. I figured those bastards looked at me the way they did because they'd latched onto you."
A mocking tone.
Si-woon let out a short sigh.
He'd suspected as much. The man had a persecution complex.
"This is a residential zone. Fighting is forbidden by the rules. If you've got something to say, how about we take it outside?"
He tried to settle the situation as rationally—and as reasonably—as he could.
He understood Baek Yeon-ho's party's fury, and he had expected Yu Jae-jun's shamelessness, but a brawl here would do no one any good.
But—
that calm demeanor only seemed to grate on Yu Jae-jun further.
"You little shit. I've been meaning to say this since last time—why the hell are you so full of yourself? Looking to die?"
Whoosh!
Before the words had even finished, the spear came swinging.
It was a fast, sudden strike.
Hm.
Whoever the opponent, dodging an incoming attack and countering was all but instinct for Hyun Si-woon.
His body lightly redirected Yu Jae-jun's spear and spun with natural ease.
Then the follow-through.
Crack!
Something burst, and Si-woon's elbow drove cleanly into Yu Jae-jun's face.
He hadn't even put real force into it—but the counter had landed at a perfectly timed angle.
I'm getting somewhere now.
Before, he could only see the openings while his body failed to keep up. Now the body moved exactly as the brain commanded.
Genuine, hard-won progress.
"Guh!"
Yu Jae-jun couldn't even scream properly as he toppled backward.
Sprawled on the ground, a rush of red blood poured from his nose.
"You son of a—"
He was about to spit a curse through a face twisted by pain and rage when—
"Ah—ah—ah?"
Ha-wol's panicked voice cut in.
"You madman! Hey—hey—Hyun Si-woon!"
The always-solemn voice was calling him urgently now.
She wasn't even calling him "you rascal."
"G-get out of there at once! Hurry! Damn it all! If you delay, you die! Move!"
Her voice was nearly a scream.
She seemed to grasp at once that this camp was no ordinary residence—and exactly what the action Si-woon had just taken would bring down on them.
Her frantic urgency sent a chill down his spine.
Die?
The word had barely begun to turn in his mind when the world twisted.
Ssst—ssssst—
It wasn't simply that his vision blurred.
Things that had been there were being erased.
The murmuring crowd.
Their voices.
The lights of the facilities.
Even the solid feel of the ground beneath his feet.
Everything—like paint bleeding out, or film burning away—lost its edges and was sucked into the void.
Sound was swallowed. Color faded. Space itself warped as if screaming.
"Ugh."
"Wh-what is this?"
"What's going on?"
Only five people remained.
The Baek siblings, Yu Jae-jun, Choi Geon-woo—
and Hyun Si-woon.
Rrrrmble…!
And at the same time—
It appeared.
Standing tall.
As if it had been there from the beginning, without so much as a breath of presence.
Hah…
Under that crushing pressure, Si-woon had to swallow his breath.
It wore a human shape—but its head was not human.
A long, hard snout.
Thick, knobbly green hide.
Sharp teeth glinting between the scales.
Cold, unfeeling reptilian eyes. An alligator's head.
It wore a suit, and that only made the wrongness worse—
like a predator playing at being human.
"Th-this damn…! It's already too late! Didn't I tell you not to show off?! Hwaaaah!"
What?
So what the hell was that thing?
"A Ranker of the Tower. From this lady's perspective, a Ranker so low you couldn't even see him from the bottom—but for a Climber like you, there is no method of opposing him. It's over."
Ah.
Aaaah.
In an instant he understood why Ha-wol had been so frantic—why she had said he would die.
This was a being of a different dimension.
Not even comparable to the monsters or humans he had faced until now. A powerhouse of a different class entirely.
A Ranker of the Tower.
"You have been summoned here for violating the rules of the camp."
"…"
"…"
Everyone shook.
Even Baek Yeon-ho and Yu Jae-jun, who moments ago could not contain their boiling rage, simply stood frozen and blank.
The hostility that had burned as if it would scorch the world?
It had evaporated without a trace.
"M-monster…"
Yu Jae-jun muttered without meaning to.
"Monster, is it. A worthless Climber who ought to be begging for his life dares to be rude as well. Just die."
Crunch!
Something burst like a watermelon.
Splat!
Blood fountained. Flesh flew.
Yu Jae-jun no longer had a head.
Above the neck, only a red cross-section remained, twitching.
Gulp.
Si-woon swallowed hard—
"Khuh!"
"H-hyaaaaah!"
Choi Geon-woo and Baek Yeon-ho fell backward without thinking, scrambling away.
"Kyaaaaah!"
Baek Do-hee collapsed in a flood of tears.
Her legs had simply given out.
"Looking at you, girl—you did not personally commit violence. You were only struck. A rules violation, yes, but I will take that into account and sentence you to a fine rather than summary execution."
Words that almost sounded like hope.
What followed was pure despair.
"The fine is one thousand TC. Pay it immediately."
"O-one thousand TC…?"
Baek Do-hee's eyes went wide with disbelief.
Her whole body trembled like a leaf; she was already deep in panic.
"Th-there's no way I have that kind of money…! P-please…"
She begged—
"Is that so?"
The Ranker's expression did not change.
"Then I will proceed according to principle."
Ssst.
Once more, the Ranker's finger moved—
"No!"
Baek Yeon-ho screamed and lunged like a madman, but it was already too late.
Crack!
Baek Do-hee's neck twisted at a grotesque angle as she fell.
"N-noonaaaaa! You bastard!"
Baek Yeon-ho, stripped of reason, charged in barehanded. The result was no different.
"As dull as expected. Well—you were going to die anyway. Go quickly."
Crunch! Craaack!
Like crushing insects—
Baek Yeon-ho's and Choi Geon-woo's heads burst one after another.
"Ha."
Ha-wol watched and gave up entirely.
"It's finished, then. Still—you never know. Make him an offer, at least. Nothing to lose."
"An offer?"
"Beg for your life and say it. That if he spares you this time, Wol-ryeong will surely repay the favor later."
Si-woon nodded and spoke at once.
"Please spare me! If you only spare my life—Wol-ryeong! Will absolutely repay this debt!"
"Hm?"
The alligator-headed Ranker paused for a moment.
Reptilian eyes fixed steadily on Si-woon.
Was it actually working?
A faint thread of hope was just beginning to rise when—
"Wol-ryeong? Ah. That ruined group the exiled Sword God once led, is it?"
A bored voice spilled out.
"Ah, damn."
Ha-wol shut her eyes tight with a deep sigh—
"I do not know how a worthless Climber even knows that name, but to dare use it as a shield is laughable. Rules are rules. There are no exceptions."
Crunch!
There was no time to think.
His vision went red—and then the familiar sensation swallowed his entire body.
The feel of a head bursting apart. Consciousness snuffing out in an instant.
That was Hyun Si-woon's twenty-first death.