Wait, That's My Bathwater?

In the middle of downtown Seoul, key members of the Glory Guild and the Black Crow Guild gathered in front of the tower.

Only one person had entered the portal this morning. Crow had vanished after declaring, "I'll be back before the soup gets cold."

The members of the Glory Guild had finished their pork soup while waiting for him to return. They had even ordered extra boiled pork slices, stuffing themselves to the brim, but Crow was still nowhere to be seen.

In the first place, the portal itself had vanished about five minutes after Crow stepped inside, leaving everyone clueless as to whether there was even a way for him to return.

Yet, the members of the Black Crow Guild remained perfectly calm. Brushing off any worry as a needless luxury, they confidently claimed, "If it's Crow, he'll be fine," and casually ordered their own bowls of pork soup to start eating.

"Nothing beats a hearty bowl of soup at a time like this."

Watching this unfold, Yoon Seo-jin, the deputy master of the Glory Guild, was utterly flabbergasted.

"Weren't you guys the ones mocking us earlier for eating soup in a situation like this...?"

"Hey, we're only human. A man's gotta eat."

"I heard you've been starving since yesterday. Sorry for the misunderstanding."

One of the Black Crow Guild members offered an apology after learning during their information exchange that Yoon Seo-jin hadn't eaten a single thing all of yesterday.

"Still, you should have kept the portal investigation under tighter security. Do you have any idea where we got our information?"

"I assumed you used an informant, but I guess not."

"Crow said he just saw a post about the portal while surfing the web. We thought it was obvious bait at first, but when we actually came here, it was real."

"...Tsk."

Yoon Seo-jin clicked his tongue quietly, resolving to put his guild members through security retraining as soon as possible.

"Honestly, Crow is the weird one. Who immediately acts on a random forum post? The person who wrote it is probably just someone working nearby anyway."

Flinch.

The pork soup restaurant owner's son, who was busy serving tables, suddenly jerked his shoulders.

The Black Crow Guild members took another spoonful of the piping hot soup and added,

"Anyway, Crow will be fine. It's impossible to even imagine him failing."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Up until then, not a single soul was worried about Crow. But...

Even after the Black Crow Guild members finished their soup and lunchtime approached... Crow did not return.

As the hours dragged on, anxiety slowly began to creep into the minds of the Black Crow Guild members.

This meant the portal wasn't just a simple trial; it possessed a terrifying level of difficulty that could keep even him struggling for hours.

Or... perhaps something had truly happened to him inside the tower.

A heavy silence gradually descended upon the plaza in front of the tower.

"...He's still not out."

Someone muttered in a low voice, causing anxiety and dread to spread like wildfire.

The portal had already vanished, and there was no way to send reinforcements.

Since they didn't even know where the portal led, re-entering through the first floor of the tower was far too risky.

One of the Black Crow Guild members asked, "Hey... does anyone know where that portal was connected to?"

"We don't know either. Now that the portal is gone, we can't even use Appraisal on it."

"Then you should have used Appraisal beforehand! What on earth have you been doing this whole time?!"

"Our deputy master already tried to appraise it at the very beginning. But he said the Appraisal failed because his skill level was too low."

For context, Yoon Seo-jin's Appraisal skill was level 8, while Crow's was level 10 (MAX).

To share a quick bit of trivia: climbers can acquire various skills by scaling the tower.

To raise a skill's level, they can hunt monsters to earn skill points, use Tower Coins to upgrade them, or absorb 'essences' containing specific skills.

"Isn't it strange? If it was that dangerous, shouldn't he have used Tower Exit to get out by now?"

"Or... is it like the deputy master suggested, and the area was structured to block Tower Exit from the start?"

Ominous speculations flew back and forth. Then, a climber from the Black Crow Guild clenched his fists and spoke up.

"Crow... isn't someone who would die that easily."

"But there's no guarantee he's alive either, is there?"

"You're only saying that because you don't know his true strength!"

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense. Eventually, the Black Crow Guild members split into opposing factions over what to do.

One side argued they should enter the tower immediately to confirm if Crow was alive, while the other countered that entering a place even Crow couldn't handle would only trap them with no way out.

Yoon Seo-jin fell into deep thought as well. Should he deploy the backup team they had prepared, or look for another way?

At that moment—

"Huh? Wait... look over there, in front of the tower!"

The surface of the tower's first floor rippled. An invisible seam split open, revealing a faint crack of light. Everyone's eyes locked onto the spot.

"...!"

Everyone gasped.

—And then, a man wearing a crow mask and a fluttering dark red suit quietly stepped out.

"...Crow!"

Relief and sheer joy erupted on the faces of the Black Crow Guild members. He was perfectly fine. In fact, without a single scratch on him, he exuded an aura that felt even more powerful than before.

The moment Crow reached them, a torrent of questions burst forth like a broken dam.

"Mr. Crow! What was it like inside the portal?"

"Are you unhurt? More importantly, how did you return to the first-floor entrance?"

"What on earth happened inside the portal? Are you okay?"

But Crow remained silent. His gaze drifted toward the spot where the portal had been. The portal... was already gone.

...The portal leading to the 95th floor is gone. Perhaps that's for the best.

She had undoubtedly taken care of it after he stepped through.

He recalled his battle with the Night Sky, the Silence that manifested within it, and his conversation with the entity who had effortlessly dealt with it—the Tower Administrator.

He thought of the shocking truths about the tower revealed by her—the girl who had confessed to being Korean.

And finally, the overly generous gifts she had bestowed upon him.

But... it was far too noisy right now.

"Mr. Crow! Please tell us what happened inside!"

Buzz, buzz—

"...You're being noisy. Move."

"..."

When Crow spoke with a hint of irritation, the surrounding crowd instantly fell silent and parted to make way.

Once the commotion had settled down, Crow approached Yoon Seo-jin, accompanied by a Black Crow Guild informant.

Yoon Seo-jin welcomed him warmly.

"Crow... I'm glad you're safe. I have a mountain of questions myself, but..."

"There are too many ears here... Do you mind if I use a skill?"

"What—?"

Snap. With a flick of his fingers, a transparent barrier materialized.

"It's a soundproof barrier. For the next five minutes, no words spoken inside will reach the outside."

Yoon Seo-jin stared at Crow with wide eyes. "...What on earth are you trying to tell me?"

Crow hesitated for a moment.

According to the reports he had read, Yoon Seo-jin, the deputy master of the Glory Guild, was highly competent, deeply responsible, and widely praised as a leader who cared for his subordinates.

Meeting him in person confirmed those reports instantly; his strong sense of duty was palpable.

That was why Crow had deliberately told Yoon Seo-jin, "I'm going in alone, so don't interfere," when they first met.

Had he not said that, the Glory Guild would have undoubtedly tried to fulfill their duty by forming a team to accompany him.

Perhaps Yoon Seo-jin himself would have followed, given that he was a highly capable climber in his own right.

Thus, Crow chose him as the very first person to receive the information he had gathered.

The weight of this information is too heavy for me to carry alone. I need someone to discuss this with, at least from the perspective of a fellow human.

The master of the Black Crow Guild was merely a business partner who provided him with ample benefits and compensation matching his achievements; he was not someone to be fully trusted.

Therefore, he chose Yoon Seo-jin, who was known to be intelligent, responsible, and trusted by his subordinates.

He believed that Yoon Seo-jin, with his upright values and strong sense of responsibility, would make the right judgment on whether this information should be released to the world.

As for bringing along the Black Crow Guild informant... it was simply a measure to prevent rumors that Crow didn't trust his own guild.

But... was this the right decision?

Was it truly correct to share this information with the deputy master of the Glory Guild before reporting it to the Black Crow Guild?

Just then, Tricia's earnest voice echoed in Crow's mind once more.

“I will trust you.”

Those words struck a chord deep within Crow's heart. Yes, it was time to make a choice. To speak, or to keep silent.

The silence, which stretched on for nine seconds like an eternity, finally broke as Crow spoke quietly.

"...I have spoken ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with the Tower Administrator."

"W-What?"

"...Excuse me?!"

Yoon Seo-jin's eyes and mouth fell wide open, unable to hide his shock and excitement. Beside him, the Black Crow Guild informant doubted his own ears.

"The Administrator said that the tower requires resources to sustain itself. And those resources are the Tower Coins that we climbers obtain inside."

Yoon Seo-jin's eyes gleamed. His brain rapidly analyzed the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠information as Crow spoke.

"Tower Coins are generated from a climber's entry, combat, consumption, growth, and death. The one who runs the tower with these generated coins is the Tower Administrator."

Inside Yoon Seo-jin's head, the massive puzzle pieces of the mysteries that had plagued them until now began to shift and click into place, one by one.

"The tower cannot be maintained without climbers. That is why it was structured to repeat trials and rewards, keeping climbers active."

As the final puzzle piece locked into place, Yoon Seo-jin nodded.

"...So that was it."

"...You don't seem very surprised."

"I had a vague suspicion. One of my hypotheses turned out to be spot on. But to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠think the resource maintaining the tower was Tower Coins..."

Crow glanced at the reaction of the Black Crow Guild informant beside him.

"U-Uh... b-but..."

The informant seemed so utterly shocked by the revelation that he had temporarily lost the ability to speak.

Crow gave the informant's shoulder a light shake. Finally snapping out of his daze, the man asked, trembling violently:

"T-Then... does that mean we are... nothing more than disposable fuel for the tower...?"

"...Essentially, yes," Crow replied calmly.

The informant fell into a massive panic. Confusion, terror, and denial washed over him.

"How... how can we possibly believe that? There's no proof in the first place...!"

As the informant desperately tried to deny what he had heard, Crow quietly pulled a box out of his Wormhole.

From the box, he retrieved a bottle shaped like an angel, containing a brilliantly glowing liquid, and held it up.

"This is a gift from the Tower Administrator. Would this suffice as proof?"

"What did you say...?!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Yoon Seo-jin cast his Appraisal skill. Fortunately, the skill activated successfully—

Yoon Seo-jin doubted his own eyes. After a long, stunned silence, he finally squeezed out a single sentence.

"...This is insane."

Yoon Seo-jin stared blankly at the holy water. Its broken, overpowered effects made every recovery item they had ever used look like absolute garbage.

It possessed an efficacy so vastly superior that it rendered all the expensive potions climbers had relied on until now completely obsolete. It was enough to make his mind go numb.

As Yoon Seo-jin appraised the holy water, Crow reviewed the details alongside him.

Confirming that the item possessed the spectacular effects he had expected, Crow took the bottle back, looked at Yoon Seo-jin, and spoke.

"This is only the beginning."

"...What do you mean?"

"The truths we now know about the tower, the existence of this potion... I plan to release all of this information to the public."

"...!!!"

"But depending on your judgment, I might reconsider. So... what do you think, Yoon Seo-jin?"

Crow had just dropped a massive bombshell right into Yoon Seo-jin's lap!