Cycle Tower Clears First
Origin Tower guards' combat power has increased by 30%.
Cycle Tower guards' combat power has increased by 30%.
Doom Tower guards' combat power has increased by 30%.
Combat carriages have been unlocked for each tower.
Drawbridges have been installed at the wall entrances of each tower.
Balistas have been unlocked on the watchtowers of each tower.
"...Let's take a break."
His whole body was soaked in sweat, clothes clinging uncomfortably to his skin. A sticky, unpleasant sensation. And yet, a grin refused to leave his face.
After all, the fruits of his labor were being announced to him through messages.
It wasn't just reinforcing the defenses. Points could only be earned by killing monsters.
To rack up tens of thousands of points, he'd slain hordes of those beasts—creatures that, if they appeared before his eyes right now, he'd never last two seconds against. Just looking at them would make his legs give out.
He'd inflicted massive damage on the enemy forces, and in turn, the climbers' side had been strengthened accordingly.
'Krrk! Why isn't our boss coming?!'
'He suddenly dropped dead!'
'What?! You call that news?!'
"Heh heh... pathetic fuckers..."
For some reason, a sitcom starring those dumbass goblins played out in his head, each one yapping away.
Hey, I killed all your bosses.
"But isn't the difficulty a bit much...?"
After nonstop sword swings and hammer blows, his arms trembled even at rest, fingers stiff and unresponsive.
He'd had it easy, just unilaterally bashing away. How must the climbers still fighting atop the walls feel right now?
If I hadn't been here, they'd all be dead, huh?
All the reinforcements and defensive weapons he'd bought, plus the debuffs on the enemies... If those hadn't been purchased, and the bosses he'd just slain had reached the walls?
No way they could've won.
Still, he lay there in a daze, watching the climbers catch their breath behind the guards... no, precisely that.
The monsters weren't infinite after all; compared to the fierce initial wave, their numbers had thinned somewhat.
Glancing at the event shop, points were steadily trickling in real-time.
Looks like the climbers were finally recovering magic stones from the fallen monster corpses now that they had a breather. Yeah, harvesting stones mid-fight was impossible...
Points ticked up bit by bit, then whoosh—plummeted.
Rinse and repeat. The climbers must be feeling their own inadequacies, upgrading agility, stamina, strength, and such.
Origin Tower climber strength increased by 5%
8,500P
The more you buy, the pricier it gets... Buy too much, and it's impossible to even consider.
Same 5%, but the price jumps in stairs—inefficient as hell. And it's additive, too.
What absolute bastards.
As time passed, the incoming monsters grew stronger, boosting point income accordingly.
If you could just hold the defense well, it was like a money printer with no limits.
This was what he was aiming for.
Joint Trial difficulty increase 1 time nullified
500,000P
The spire's difficulty hike wasn't just one step. Casualty numbers exploded from multiples to dozens of times over.
In a defense like this, stronger enemies meant more allied deaths. Morale drops, momentum shifts, walls breach, and it's a massacre.
Nullifying that desperate penalty.
In these tower defense games, you save early for high-value abilities or items. But if your defense sucks?
You blow cash on cheap consumables that lose value late-game, leading to defeat.
Hold strong through early and mid, and you feast on the late game for free.
He'd held the early game for them, so now the other climbers could tackle the Joint Trial with some leisure—
"Wha—why's it dropping?!"
......
"Huh? Huh? Huuuuuh? Why? Whyyyyy?"
His remaining points nosedived like a crashing stock.
Fuck, what the hell is this?
"Which fucking asshole..."
Looking around at the nearby shops, the other climbers wore panicked expressions, at a total loss.
Was this a spire or a stock exchange? It felt like the IMF crisis all over again.
Who... who?
Was this another spire ploy? Assaulting remaining points instead of the walls?
The mystery of where the points were going solved itself soon enough.
Cycle Tower has cleared the Joint Trial.
Origin TowerJoint Trial difficulty will increase.
Doom TowerJoint Trial difficulty will increase.
With a face twisted like a malevolent demon, he glared piercingly at a nearby shop window. Beyond the rippling surface like water, a few men stood atop the wall's watchtower, waving a crudely made Chinese flag and grinning brightly.
*****
Zhang Weian.
He was a Hard difficulty climber from China's recent history.
He'd been poor. His family of five survived on the few hundred yuan his father earned fixing bicycles each month.
But thanks to his parents' sacrifices, he, the eldest son, made it to university unscathed.
However... that devotion marked the start of his misery.
A so-so school, and in his class, a guy named Wang Hou. Bigger build, handsome, and above all, son of a Communist Party official.
True to his background, crowds followed him, and even the pretty girls he'd secretly eyed gazed at him with admiration.
"Hey! Where you touching? Do you know how much this costs?!"
When the girl he had a crush on scorned him, he thought beautiful roses must have thorns... and liked her more.
But then...
"Wang Hou... I like you."
That girl confessed to that bastard Wang Hou, who whisked her away in a luxury sports car to high-end malls he could never afford to even glance at.
What does a guy do after getting confessed to, rewarding her with gifts?
His guts twisted.
The subtle sneers from other kids calling him poor? Being despised and ignored by girls? Never going to amusement parks or fancy cafes they frequented to make memories?
"........."
Wang Hou never bullied him outright. Just ignored him.
Like he was worthless in his life, a roadside pebble—not even worth a greeting when their eyes met, just passing by.
And then...
[You have been selected as a climber.]
Year 2 of the spires' appearance. The message floating before his eyes.
Some might despair, but for Zhang Weian, it was electric—like his life had flipped.
A chance to turn his life around! For bottom-feeders like him to breach the solid walls of the elite and soar to the heavens!
A chance bestowed on talentless him.
Death's risk? He decided not to care.
A life of ignoble groveling under such treatment, crammed like rats with five in a tiny home? Better to die.
No Survival... that's for crazy monster freaks. Hard's the max.
God wasn't indifferent; Zhang had grit and tenacity, surviving Hard.
"Mr. Zhang Weian! I hear you've cleared Floor 5 Hard of Cycle Tower! Any secrets? Everyone's waiting for your words."
Dressed in a sharp suit, brimming with confidence, he gave a speech to the camera.
Nothing to envy now. A rags-to-riches tale anyone would celebrate.
But...
One day, a voice from a luxury TV.
[It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Wang Hou. Clearing Floor 6 makes you 3rd in China, 11th worldwide on Hard... Care to share?]
"Those motherfucking..."
Just a week after his debut, they featured that bastard Wang Hou.
And what the hell was with Wang? He never did this stuff before.
Putting me on... to check me...?
His pride trampled like a bug, rage boiling until veins burst in his eyes.
He wasn't inferior. So why was he losing?
Communist Party official.
His dad: a shabby bike repairman. Wang's family: elite, high-ranking Party cadre.
That was the difference. Must've gotten all the support and info.
The weak climb, but the strong catch up. He bore his parents up a cliff; that prick rode a cable car they'd installed, ascending effortlessly without effort.
"No honor! Wang Hou, you! Sneaky tactics in competition. Shameless?"
Screaming his inferiority complex, he encountered massive luck.
Found that, clearing the Joint Trial effortlessly.
If this world was winner-takes-all...
Cycle Tower has cleared the Joint Trial.
Exiting the tower.
He just had to be the winner.
He knew mysterious skills and weapons from the towers vanished after Joint Trials appeared. Probably the Floor 1 curse.
But humanity didn't have that luxury, right?
He'd worked like a madman. But climbers higher than him?
Surely cheating. Wielding power like a sword, monopolizing tower resources, shoving pocket change at the likes of him while snatching vital skills!
"Wang Hou... heh heh, bye."
Wang Hou chose Origin Tower. Once high-floor climbers died, humanity would panic, handing hidden skills and enhancement stones for free to survivors. Party elites, top officials, Ivy League grads—folks he'd never dreamed of—would flock to him, rubbing hands.
Support anything you want, just clear the tower, please.
This is the right choice. Spires break by concentrating resources on a few.
In his view, too many climbers. Less than 30% even had skill books, let alone enhancement stones.
But kill half? The survivors scoop up all those skill books and stones.
A few like-minded Chinese agreed with his philosophy, pulling it off.
"Higher... to the very top."
Zhang Weian smirked bitterly as he was ejected outside the tower.
*****
"Wha—which bastard?!"
A Hard difficulty climber. He recoiled at the sudden message.
Tower difficulty increase. The penalty that terrified all climbers for 24 hours yesterday.
Goblins that fled screaming from a mere graze now charged with rabid eyes, foaming at the mouth like mad beasts.
Slash!!
A spear straight to the gut.
"Krrraaaagh!!"
"Wh-what?!"
The impaled one grabbed his spear with both hands, flesh tearing as it advanced.
Ignoring its gaping belly wound, blood and guts spilling out.
In a nightmarish scene he'd dread even in dreams, he faltered—the worst mistake.
"Aaaaagh!!!"
The beast swung long claws, peeling the skin from his face!
"G-get it off me!! Don't just watch!!"
His eyes stung. But the vivid agony and surrounding screams rang clear.
Everyone else in the same boat?
He hurled the spear, stomped the monster's neck until it snapped.
"Ah, eyes... haa... good—"
Not blinded, lucky.
Couldn't finish the thought.
Clang!
His grip failed; weapon dropped from numb hands.
But no one pointed it out. Other climbers stared blankly at the same spot.
Below the walls.
Half the dead monsters' mouths gaped wide, screeching as they rose.
[!!!!]
As if this were hell, the world filled with horrific screams.
No more soldier cries, climber shouts, or defense weapon fire.
"......Ah."
Far off, a skull spraying shadows, darkening the world.
Like a lofty ascetic, perched highest, surveying the battlefield.
Instinct screamed: That thing was leagues beyond the other beasts.
Just appearing stripped all enemies of will to fight.
Where it reached out, crushed monsters rose; mangled flesh and bone fused into massive, grotesque horrors.
Tower difficulty increase.
That meant—all monsters enraged.
And,
Special variants will appear.
War's worst foe.
The necromancer had arrived.
.........
Thud!
"Huh?"
As all resigned to defeat and death, the skull's cranium shattered like it'd been struck.
With it, undead monsters scaling the walls dropped limply like powered off; red-fleshed horrors that nearly clutched wall-top humans melted like ice cream.
Golden Lion Knight Order
Inexplicable phenomena kept occurring.