Doom Tower, Floor 2 (1)
Doom Tower Survival difficulty category. The first post to go up there exploded with reactions. The numbers climbed so sharply that I seriously considered deleting it on the spot. Views hit the thousands in under five seconds. How long had they been waiting for this?
[Whisper: 12,968]
"Holy shit."
The misunderstanding that I was the world's sixth Survival difficulty climber brought a flood of handshake requests. Glancing at some messages, most were from people claiming to be from this corporation or that country's political party. Probably Easy difficulty climbers hired as secretaries sending them on their behalf... Still, their overly polite tones—wanting to meet, thanking me for my dedication, calling me a hero who'd saved humanity—were a bit much. So I ignored them all.
Honestly, right now I just wanted to protect my own safety.
'Some are asking for more strategy details...'
I couldn't ignore those, but I couldn't share even if I wanted to. Super Special Very Easy Mode was the lowest of the low, the GOAT of garbage modes. It was just a forest with name tags slapped on flowers and butterflies. The system had basically said, 'Eh, catch these and I'll call it cleared.'
'Cleared without catching the goblins, right?'
I remembered chasing down every butterfly named "goblin" on the first day in excitement. But it hadn't affected the clear at all.
This needed more testing before adding to the strategy post.
Anyway, enough community browsing. Time for my own business.
I glanced over at the screen.
"Ah, rent."
The spark of energy vanished in an instant.
Was I too scared of the government? Should I barge into the National Assembly, sob that I'm a Survival climber, and beg?
Rent. A word powerful enough to make me abandon secrecy in a heartbeat.
"Fuck, and my part-time gig's gone."
Going back to that stupid choice now? No way. I'd tasted the sweet honey of the cheat tower.
Instead of lounging like a NEET browsing communities, I needed to hustle starting today.
"By repeating Doom Tower farms."
First clear and Joint Trial gave imprints, but no lowly magic stones or enhancement stones. Repeated clears, though, dropped rewards like rain...
"Huh?"
'Wait, come to think of it, I've never gotten any?'
Why? Higher difficulty should mean better rewards, but I'd never even seen a magic stone, let alone a skill book.
Would you like to enter the Tower?
"Enter."
Yeah, I had a hunch. But if it was right, my opinion of this already shitty cheat tower would hit rock bottom again, so I'd shoved it aside.
The world shifted once more, replacing the dingy studio with a pristine, untouched forest breeze.
Butterflies fluttered toward me, sticking to my body. Moving slowly to avoid agitating them, I plucked a grass blade the size of my palm and coaxed them onto it like tissue paper.
-Chomp!!
After several tries, I caught all six butterflies. Some burst on my palm instead of the grass, giving a gruesome feel; a couple floated away, making it a pain. But after fierce battle, all goblin butterflies were eliminated.
Then, following the now-familiar school-commute path, I snapped two hobgoblin sunflowers and tore the giant centipede painting beyond the cave.
You have successfully cleared Floor 1 of Doom Tower Survival difficulty.
Exiting the Tower.
Familiar text now. But one new message appeared.
Rewards will be distributed.
"As expected."
Doom Tower was about combat and survival. No rewards because I hadn't killed those "goblin"-named butterflies before.
Fucking hell, that's harsh. Other climbers would've cursed the system. After all that grind, miss one or two and get nothing? I'd be bedridden for days from the injustice.
My frown bloomed into a smile at the reward list. A repeat clear reward that dropped once in ten tries? Highest-grade magic stones were exclusive to the world's six Survival climbers—unmatched rarity.
'How much will this fetch?'
Who needs lottery? This is the lottery. With that rarity, even tens of billions would be nice.
Logging into the Hub System market to check magic stone prices.
Towers didn't give real cash; exchange lowest-grade stones at the Climber Association for sale.
'No listings, as expected...'
Low/mid floors on Easy only dropped lowest-grade. Structure made higher grades rarer by difficulty—obvious.
Enhancement stones were scarce too, mid-grades hard to spot. Highest-grade? Zero.
'High-grade... some Hard climbers listed a few...'
I froze mid-thought.
"Wha? F-Fifty? B-Billion? Huh?"
I frantically searched "highest-grade magic stone" on my phone. Top news hits:
"Only three in the world?"
Then what's this in my hand?
Made sense why science and business were freaking out. National disputes too?
'Well... treated like strategic resources, right? Rarer and more valuable than rare earths.'
Now I got why people called it a honey pot if you survived.
A shorts comment I'd seen lounging. Normal had abysmal survival, yet only lowest or low-grade stones after dozens of life-risking repeats.
But me? Jog for 30 minutes, farm highest-grade endlessly.
"Gotta hide my identity no matter what."
Decent money? I'd be thrilled. Hell yeah I was, but...
If exposed, kidnapped or leashed by some state? Unlikely as sole Doom Survival climber, but endless pressure.
'Wait, how to cash it in...?'
Flash a highest-grade? Identity blown. Survival doesn't drop low-grades...
Then, an item on the market caught my eye.
"This is it."
Equal across towers. Unlike skill books, pure passives for body/senses—weak effects, possible trash with side effects. Low-grade stone value. And 'equal drop across difficulties.'
"Let's go."
Would you like to enter the Tower?
"Time to make bank!"
First Floor 1 clear and smooth Joint Trial. Heavy casualties, but humanity's lifespan extended again—people rejoiced. Plus 300,000 new climbers.
Tower trade, enhancement, skill systems made it easier for latecomers. Rich or state-backed could snag stones with luck.
High-floor climbers griped for support instead—but ignored.
Personal high-floor clears meaningless on Easy~Hard. True conquest by three towers' Survival climbers. Nations ramped support for them.
Complaints spotlighted Survival treatment.
Tower curse killed 10x more each time. After 100 million dead? Billion next. Near-certain.
Only 6 Survival climbers made focusing easy.
But...
A year flew by, past D-100. Changes? More hopeful than before.
New climbers' survival up with stones/info. Repeats flooded market with skills/stones.
Key: Two more Survival climbers. Total 8 worldwide.
However...
Cycle and Origin favor information, wit, and luck over raw power, so even a little help goes a long way. But Doom? That’s beyond human capability.
Except one.
The Doom Tower Survival climber.
Gov buys Normal~Hard resources, dumps on Survivals. Confirmed strat.
But Doom's sole Survival rejected all, vanished. Just one Floor 1 info post.
Right after, a post. Time's coming? Only 100 days left. Extremists/doom cults rising—signs.
Before Floor 2, checked months of grinding results.
"Status Window."
Long time no see, but still reeks of awesomeness—my status window.
No buyers for highest-grade, so shelved. But unidentified enhancement stones piled up. Sold most for cash, but...
Nothing beat using on myself. Picked the decent ones from results.
Skills useless except fall risks, so set low-grade Slow Landing. Best skill fits situation.
'Difficulty perk makes skills irrelevant anyway.'
Entering Doom Tower Floor 2.
"Let's go."