2
Chapter 2:
The starting point for all climbers who ascend The Tower.
A sudden disaster struck the peaceful Tutorial Floor.
Boom!!
"Ugh?!"
"Fairy!! Where did all that confidence from a moment ago go!!"
The Tutorial Fairy, wielding a scythe that could cleave through anything, couldn't hide her distress.
The arrogant monk who had dared to challenge her authority was closing in, smashing apart trees and boulders alike.
Whatever the Fairy was thinking, Samjang drove his fist straight forward.
The distance between the two was nearly a hundred paces—an absolute impossibility to bridge.
And yet, strangely, Samjang's powerful fist reached her.
The Fairy barely managed to block it, recoiling in shock.
As this happened again and again, the Fairy realized what art Samjang was using.
'That's the Hundred Pace Divine Fist!'
The energy packed into his fist tore through empty air and struck an enemy a hundred paces away—a divine art unfolding right before her eyes.
She had no idea why a monk possessing an art rarely seen even on the upper floors of The Tower was here on the Tutorial Floor.
But now that she understood he was using martial arts, she could begin to recognize his other techniques as well.
First, the Fairy shot upward into the sky to escape completely out of range of the Hundred Pace Divine Fist.
But Samjang kicked off the empty air—
Whoosh!!
"Where do you think you're running!!"
"He's using Treading the Void too?!"
Samjang began sprinting across the open sky to pursue his enemy.
The Fairy used magic in a desperate bid to shake him off, and countless elements rained down like a violent storm.
But then—what happened?
Samjang's figure, struck dead-on by the projectiles, suddenly vanished.
The Fairy felt a sudden chill and whipped her scythe behind her.
She barely managed to block the death approaching from her rear.
Claaang!!!
"Y-you even use Substitution Shift—why are you here!!"
"Take that up with whoever built this place!!"
High in the open sky, the Fairy's scythe and Samjang's fists clashed countless times.
By all rights, Samjang—bare-handed as he was—should have been driven back. And yet his body was hard as diamond.
Instead, it was the Fairy who was slowly being pushed back.
As the fierce battle raged on, the Fairy's hands grew numb and she thought to herself:
'A-at this rate, I'm going to lose no matter what! And I've never even heard of a being like him!!'
Could he possibly be from outside The Tower's sphere of influence?!
Whatever the case, an Irregular had appeared.
The Fairy had to survive and deliver this information to the other managers.
In the end, she drew on the power of a manager—power that was never meant to be used in combat.
Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop!!!
High in the vast sky, her clones multiplied into tens, then hundreds.
But Samjang just grinned and drew in a deep breath.
Then he let out a tremendous roar.
"Gal!!!"
Whooooom!!!
"Krahhhh!"
"Uaahhh!"
"Eeeeek!"
A colossal wave of sound carrying the power of Dharma crashed into the Fairies.
The clones, unable to withstand the Lion's Roar, shattered on the spot.
And the original body, swept up in the aftershock of the sound art, felt a momentary wave of dizziness.
And at precisely that moment.
Samjang stopped his attack and quietly formed a hand seal.
Prayer beads appeared from nowhere, linking into a single strand that bound the Fairy in place.
She immediately tried to escape.
But now her magic and her body refused to move at all.
"W-what is this?!"
"I can see why you'd be confused."
Remarkably, Samjang was, at his core, a Supporter.
Naturally, he had a vast number of techniques for hindering enemies, just as he was doing now.
Caught in a completely unexpected way, the Fairy sensed her end was near and spoke urgently.
"I-if you kill me, the other managers will attack you!!! A-and if the Tutorial breaks, climbers won't be able to enter The Tower anymore!!"
What the Fairy said was, in a sense, perfectly reasonable.
But Samjang was a being who had climbed The Tower all the way to the top.
"Do you think I wouldn't know that another fairy will be born if you die? I even know that every time a new fairy has appeared, you've been killing them all."
"...Huh?"
"And all the managers of every floor are indifferent to each other to a remarkable degree."
Knowing all the truths, Samjang calmly formed a different hand seal.
"In a way, the indifference of the one at the very top is what turned you into a monster."
"Wait!! P-please, spare me!!!"
Whether his opponent struggled or not, Samjang fixed his gaze on the dark energy seeping out from the Fairy.
The Status Window gave him an immediate answer to his curiosity.
[ Karma: Pure Evil ]
'So that is karma....'
Just how much karma had she accumulated for her misdeeds to be visibly pouring out beyond her very body?
A sigh escaped Samjang on its own.
But now, to bring things to an end, he quietly recited within his heart:
[ Above the heavens and below them, I alone am honored. ]
Above the sky, beneath the sky—only I am exalted.
At first glance, these seem like extraordinarily arrogant words.
And yet, in truth, there were words that followed.
[ The three realms are filled with suffering; I shall bring them peace. ]
All three realms are in anguish—I shall be the one to save their wretched souls.
The declaration of compassion and salvation said to have been cried out by Shakyamuni the moment he was born rang out from Samjang's heart and reverberated across the entire dimension.
All light in the current dimension then vanished, plunging it into darkness like night.
Yet conversely, the unfathomable Sacred Energy flowing from Samjang amplified tens, hundreds of times over.
He became as a single sun.
And so the nameless soul who had accumulated boundless karma pleaded for mercy.
But by the hand of the Tathagata, descended from the heavens, the chain of wicked karma was at last severed.
***
I had sent the sinful Fairy through reincarnation this time.
Looking at the enormous handprint that had become her grave, I spoke.
"May you find your way to paradise in the next life."
As I slowly descended from the sky, dozens of message windows appeared before me.
[ Unbelievable Achievement! ]
[ You have defeated the Tutorial Floor's Hidden Boss! ]
[ Reward: Wondrous Fairy Dust. ]
[ Free Stat +10 ]
[ 1 Skill Selection Voucher ]
[ Due to the effect of the randomly assigned name, stats have been automatically distributed! ]
First, the game system rewards applied just as they would in reality.
I'd also been a little curious about how rewards would be given out.
So they just get dropped into the Inventory?
Anyway, I'd taken down a Hidden Boss that's notoriously hard to catch.
I moved immediately to escape the Tutorial Floor.
Though something felt off.
Thud!!
"Eek, eeeeek..."
"Grrrr...."
"Woof woof!!"
Normally, the Tutorial was about dealing with dangerous beasts.
Or fending off attacks from savage goblins while searching for the Portal.
But the beasts I encountered showed nothing but boundless goodwill.
And the goblins dropped to their knees in prayer the moment they saw me—
A truly bizarre situation was unfolding.
Either way, since I could wander the Tutorial in comfort, I picked up everything there was to get.
[ You have discovered a hidden item on the Tutorial Floor! ]
[ Free Stat +1 ]
[ You have collected a rare plant on the Tutorial Floor! ]
[ Free Stat +1 ]
All those Free Stats are being distributed automatically right now.
It seems like they're going almost entirely into Strength—am I imagining things?
'As expected, random never gives you what you actually need....'
Clicking my tongue at Lady Luck, I pressed onward—and in the distance, I could see the Portal that would take me out of here.
I wonder if the other climbers managed to get through to Floor Zero safely, without getting caught up in my fight with the Fairy?
Now it was time to find out the truth.
[ All members have successfully escaped! ]
[ Tutorial Floor Clear Rating: SSS ]
[ You are awarded an Inventory Expansion Kit and Free Stat +3! ]
[ 1 Skill Selection Voucher ]
Fortunately, the climbers had made it safely to Floor Zero.
***
The Inventory Expansion Kit is useless to me when I already have an Inventory the size of the Pacific Ocean.
Still, it'll come in handy when trading with other climbers down the line.
There's nothing left to see on the Tutorial Floor.
I crossed over to Floor Zero, and a medieval European-style city welcomed me.
[ Floor Zero ]
[ The Resting Place of Climbers ]
[ TIP: Acquire equipment and party members, then head to the next floor! ]
[ Climbers may return here at any time. ]
[ However, if you commit a crime within the city, you will not be permitted to return. ]
I had arrived at what you might call the starting village.
Climbers of all kinds wandered about, each one different from the last.
The old-fashioned buildings scattered throughout the city were quite beautiful as well.
I wouldn't have minded doing a bit of sightseeing here, but first things first.
I secured a room at the finest inn in the city and immediately ordered a meal.
"I'll have everything on the menu."
"A-alright!"
While I was stuck in the Black Desert, there was nothing to eat, so I'd been tearing into the flesh of those grotesque monsters.
After ten years, eating something that actually qualified as food hit me with an overwhelming wave of emotion.
And since I had an obscene amount of money, I let myself enjoy the finest food the room had to offer, without a care in the world.
The inn staff who brought the meals did eye me with curious looks.
But there was no particular reason for me to pay them any mind.
In any case, satisfying my appetite—one of the five primal desires—had my mind running sharp and clear.
Just as I was using a Skill Selection Voucher to review my plans going forward, an unusual skill I hadn't seen before caught my eye.
[ Subjugation Summons ]
[ Summons a subjugated being to your side. ]
"So they put something like this in as DLC?"
A monk is by nature a Supporter, which makes solo play quite a struggle.
So they added this as a paid balance patch, did they.
There were plenty of other interesting skills to look at, but my direction going forward had become clear.
First, I confirmed that the rewards from the game system remained intact.
And that Level Scaling had not been applied.
Of course, it was possible that the developer with his bloated ego had sneakily applied Level Scaling only to the final boss.
But if I swept up everything on the way up, a head-on fight would definitely be manageable.
The problem was that bastard boasted the worst kind of boss fight—one where he summoned endless waves of mobs—so I absolutely needed a plan.
The issue was that if I brought along companions carelessly, the final boss would try to tempt them with promises of granting wishes.
So I couldn't team up with other climbers who had a high chance of betraying me.
But what if I commanded beings like summons instead?
What if I subjugated incredibly powerful ones while I was at it?
They would undoubtedly be a huge help when the time came to face the final boss.
And conveniently, my Inventory was now unlocked and I had resources in abundance.
I should prepare to gain disciples who would never betray me.