The Tutorial Still Isn't Over
The peaceful Meeting Room on the 99th floor of My House Tower.
"Hehe... Let's see how many Tower Coins we've gathered, shall we~?"
"Ooh-hyoo! Lmaooo!"
Tricia threw her arms in the air, cheering and dancing for joy!
It had been a mere week since My House Tower had manifested on Earth!
And it had only been four days since climbers had actually started entering in earnest!
Yet, in that incredibly short span of time, Tricia had managed to rake in a staggering amount of Tower Coins by running her "business" alongside the "trials"!
It was an amount so massive that if any other tower had seen it, they would have fainted from sheer shock!
"Our home's resting facilities really are the absolute best!"
...Though, in reality, it was mostly thanks to the high sales of expensive items like the Holy Water of the Archangel, the Essence of Happy Dreams, and the Sap of the World Tree.
Still, the resting facilities were bringing in a steady stream of revenue, so she wasn't entirely wrong.
Now that she had earned plenty of Tower Coins, she took some time to leisurely review her sales status.
By the way... the Tears of the Archangel didn't sell as well as I thought it would.
Tricia glanced at the bottle in her hand.
Effect: Drastically enhances physical abilities based on the user's physical stats and growth potential. (Stat increase: Minimum 2.5x to maximum 300x)
Duration: Proportional to the user's mental strength and willpower. The higher the physical enhancement multiplier, the faster the duration depletes.
Side Effects: Once the duration ends, the user may experience severe muscle pain and difficulty breathing for a set period. Overuse may lead to shock and death. (Enhancement Multiplier × Duration = Side Effect Duration)
To put it simply, it was a conditional buff potion whose effects exploded in potency the stronger the user's potential and willpower were.
If a normal person who wasn't a climber drank it, they would typically see a 3x to 5x boost lasting about ten minutes, followed by thirty to fifty minutes of muscle pain as a side effect.
But what if we looked at climbers who possessed a decent amount of strength?
For instance, Kim Chunsik, a climber of the Soldier class who had entered in the early days, could expect a 7x to 8x boost lasting over fifteen minutes.
And for a high-potential climber like the otaku of the Swordsman class, they might see a boost of over 10x, but because their mental strength couldn't keep up, the duration wouldn't even last three minutes.
Then, what if we assumed Crow, the Gravity Mage, drank it?
- Physical Ability: 72x enhancement
- Duration: 43 minutes
He might have literally become a nigh-invincible monster.
Of course, the muscle pain and breathing difficulties that rushed in after the duration ended could be completely resolved with a single cup of the Holy Water of the Archangel.
But the real problem with this potion lay elsewhere.
"Even if your body gets stronger, if your senses can't keep up... it actually becomes a poison."
While physical abilities were temporarily boosted to an extreme degree, the brain couldn't process information at that speed.
One had to adapt quickly to their suddenly empowered body, but failing to do so would leave them wide open, making it even more dangerous.
Furthermore, because of the limited duration, the time spent adapting was essentially wasted, resulting in a massive loss.
To make matters worse, climbers had absolutely no way of knowing how effective the Tears of the Archangel would be for them.
Since they couldn't know the effects without buying and drinking it first, they were naturally hesitant to make the purchase.
"That's why I even lowered the price to 2,000 Tower Coins, but it's still not selling very well."
For reference, 2,000 Tower Coins was roughly equivalent to 10 million Korean won.
In other words, this crazy bastard was bottling her own tears and selling them for ten million won a pop!
It seemed as though her conscience had completely run away to the far reaches of outer space, but in truth, considering the sheer potency of the effects, it was actually quite cheap.
"Then should I dilute the Tears of the Archangel about a hundred times and turn it into the Faint Tears of the Archangel? I can adjust the price to around 22 Tower Coins, right?"
Tricia decided to sell the diluted version, the Faint Tears of the Archangel, to make it more accessible.
Enhancement Multiplier: 1.2x to 3.5x
Duration: (Almost identical to the original Tears of the Archangel)
Side Effects: Very mild muscle pain, though it may worsen with overdose.
In short, while the enhancement effect was drastically reduced, the duration remained the same, creating a potion that allowed users to indirectly experience the original's power to some extent.
"Next is... the Essence of Happy Dreams?"
Effect: Upon consumption, the user will dream of their deepest desire, experiencing it with all five senses activated as if it were reality. (No pain is felt in the dream.)
Side Effects: Forced awakening during sleep causes mental confusion for several hours. Overdose may prevent the user from waking up for several days. Long-term use causes depression and withdrawal symptoms due to the disparity between dreams and reality.
Price: 320 Tower Coins
In short, it was a devilish potion that allowed one to experience everything they desired in their dreams.
Roughly 1.6 million won.
It wasn't an actual drug, but the vividness of the experience carried a temptation far sweeter than any narcotic.
Even Tricia would drink this potion to heal herself in a happy dream whenever she felt exhausted or depressed.
In return, the side effects of this potion were just as severe.
"But thankfully, I'm also selling the Archangel's Feather Amulet alongside it."
Thus, Tricia sold the Archangel's Feather Amulet right next to the Essence of Happy Dreams.
This amulet was a high-grade item made by Tricia plucking her very own feathers!
The price was a whopping—20,000 Tower Coins!
That was about 100 million won!
"...But at this rate, shouldn't everyone be able to afford it? Why isn't it selling?"
This bastard's conscience must have run away to an entirely different dimension in deep space.
...Or so one might say, but the amulet's performance was actually guaranteed to match its price.
Simply carrying Tricia's feather provided permanent mental healing and defense, and by consuming the feather's power, it could continuously ward off extreme bad luck.
In fact, as long as a near-death misfortune didn't strike, those effects could be used almost permanently!
"Well, my feathers grow back quickly anyway, so maybe I'll lower the price a bit to 18,000 Tower Coins?"
It seemed her conscience, which had fled to deep space, had at least returned as far as the Andromeda Galaxy.
"The Sap of the World Tree... is too much of a hassle, so I'll skip that. How much did the other things sell?"
As she was checking her sales and organizing the product list one by one,
Sian Nightmare approached Tricia's side.
"*Yaaawn*... What are you doing?"
"Working...?"
"How absolutely dreadful."
"But you have to work too. We still have to set up the floor trials, remember?"
"That's even more dreadful..."
Though she grumbled, Sian eventually sat down next to Tricia, opened her system window, and began to work.
"Oh, you already drew up a draft?"
"Yeah. Just look it over, and if it looks good, you can register it as is."
"Hmm... This one is fine, but this one needs a bit of tweaking..."
Sian still had sleepy eyes, but her hands moved with precision as she began to efficiently set the trial difficulties and rewards.
However, her next words were unexpected.
"...Lady Tricia."
"Hmm?"
"How does it feel... to be back on Earth right now?"
Tricia stared blankly at Sian for a moment before slowly shaking her head.
"It doesn't really feel like I'm back. Since I can't step outside the tower, I haven't been able to do a single thing properly."
Sian nodded nonchalantly,
but her fingers were fidgeting as if she were anxious.
"Then... when do you think we'll be able to go outside and see it?"
"Earth... you mean modern society?"
"Yes. Libraries, cat cafes, PC bangs, game consoles, processed foods... all those things you told me about, Lady Tricia."
Tricia chuckled softly and nodded.
"I'll definitely show you. Real modern technology, real game consoles, real processed foods... all of it."
Everything Tricia had shown Sian so far had been fake, shown through dreams.
Sian had yet to experience "real modern civilization."
"So, I promise. One day, we'll all go outside the tower together—and have a blast."
"...Okay. I'll look forward to it."
For a brief moment, the sharp edges of Sian's eyes softened warmly.
It was a rare expression, one she would hardly ever show under normal circumstances.
A few minutes passed in that manner.
"Hmm, this should do it. I'll register it like this."
After showing the system window to Tricia and receiving her approval, Sian pressed the register button.
The trials for the 87th, 88th, and 89th floors were registered all at once—
and finally, the trial settings for all floors of My House Tower were complete.
At that moment, a system window popped up in front of Tricia's eyes.
Congratulations! The trial and reward settings for all floors have been completed!
The system was suddenly sending her a congratulatory message.
"Aw, you didn't have to go that far..."
You have completed the first tutorial required for tower management!
As a reward for completing the tutorial, 10,000 Tower Coins have been paid to the administrator!
"?"
Huh? What?
10,000 Tower Coins?
Tutorial 2: Expand the Tower
The second tutorial will now begin. Please complete all of the quests below!
☑ A total of 100 or more Climbers entered: Completed
☐ 30 or more Climbers clear the 5th floor trial: Incomplete (Current: 17)
🎁 Reward: 20,000 Tower Coins + Tower Administrator Authority Rank Up
"???"
No,
wait a minute.
Don't tell me...?
All the suffering I've gone through up until now...
was just a "tutorial"...?
I spent all day designing trials, guiding climbers, making potions, and even running a business just to prevent the tower from collapsing...?
"And all of that could have been resolved with a single click of [Auto-Set Trials]...?"
Of course, even if she had known, she wouldn't have actually pressed auto-set...
but if she had known it would be like this, she could have just set the trials first and taken her sweet time gathering Tower Coins!
A mixture of emptiness and self-loathing washed over Tricia, plunging her into a deep state of despondency.
Just then, another window popped up in front of Tricia's eyes.
P.S. When your authority rank rises, you will be able to enjoy various additional benefits provided by the system.
"...Then once the tutorial is over... can I go outside?"
Tricia asked the system, her voice brimming with hope and anticipation.
Thump! Thump!
Unable to Answer - Insufficient Authority.
"You motherfucker!!!!!!!!"
Extremely pissed off by the system's trolling, Tricia fired a Super Ultra Hyper Eternity Maximum White Shine Boost Evolution Angelic God Requiem from both hands straight at the system window!
...But of course, the system window had no physical form, and the Super Ultra Hyper Eternity Maximum White Shine Boost Evolution Angelic God Requiem flew straight past it and slammed into the wall.
"Ah."
—*KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*
And thus, the blue planet Earth was destroyed—!
...Not really. The tower just shook a little.
Of course, the interior of the 99th floor was cleanly reduced to ruins.
Leaving behind a perfectly fine Tricia (?) and a Sian Nightmare with afro-exploded hair.
"...Did I go too far?"
"What on earth did I do to deserve this..."
"I'm sorry..."
Tricia spent some Tower Coins to restore the 99th floor,
and she reportedly gave Sian three of her homemade "Handmade Angel Puddings" as a sincere apology.