The Usefulness of Skill Points
A legendary achievement has occurred on Floor 11 of the Tower of Korea.
Cho Sanghyuk clicked his tongue.
It hasn't even been three seconds since he vanished?
He immediately opened the Awakener community. As expected, all hell had broken loose.
For the past two weeks, the Awakener community had revolved around a single topic. One side argued that Floor 11 had been cleared, but a legendary achievement was out of reach. The other insisted no attempt had been made at all, and that the climber was still preparing. The two camps had split sharply down the middle.
Cho Sanghyuk and the Association had weighed in with their own theories, but no matter which way it went, one opinion dominated the discussion: they absolutely had to secure this legendary Awakener.
Looking back now, it was all one giant waste of a meeting.
Then, it happened.
A legendary achievement has occurred on Floor 12 of the Tower of Korea.
At some point, the awakeners had begun calling Yu Jaewoo the Legendary Climber, and the name had hardened into an official-sounding title.
Without even realizing it, Cho Sanghyuk had opened a post of his own on the community board. He tapped out a message and hit send.
Today is the day Floor 50 opens.
Meanwhile, in the cold, dark shadow-recesses of another world, an ominous movement was stirring.
—: Has the legendary Awakener been secured yet?
—: [Twelve Earthly Branches] has dispatched Jeokmyo to Korea.
—: [Orochi] has sent White Snake.
—: And Russia — no, [Spektr], what about you people?
—: We're opting out. We could collide with Daniel.
—: Scared, are we?
—: You don't understand Daniel's true power. Besides, China's [Team Ascension] and Japan's [Kido] are both in Korea right now. There's nothing to gain from revealing ourselves there at the moment.
—: Wrong. If not now, we will never capture the legendary Awakener. The risk must be taken.
—: We'll bring Korea down another way. We target the public officials. The politicians.
—: Aren't they all under Cho Sanghyuk's thumb?
—: Precisely. And that's exactly why corrupt old men drunk on greed are child's play to manipulate. We peel them out from under Cho Sanghyuk's control and stoke the public's fear of awakeners.
—: A grand and ambitious plan, indeed.
—: ······You'll see soon enough. I've already dispatched our shamans.
—: Do as you please. But get the Chairman's approval first.
—: Naturally.
—: If we cannot recruit the legendary Awakener, we eliminate him. He must not be allowed to climb the Tower with any stability. Only when the Tower collapses will chaos arrive.
—: We can no longer allow the top climbers of each nation to grow stronger. We must collapse the Tower as soon as possible and scatter their strength.
Would you like to enter Floor 13?
"Yep."
Pin—
The scenery changed in an instant. It looked like an underground ruin of some kind. I stepped straight out of the safe zone and drew my internal energy up to its peak. With every one of my senses honed razor-sharp, a single second stretched out like a full minute.
Which meant the bellow of the ogres reached me like this:
"GUWAAAAAARGH!"
Utterly grotesque.
Thud-! Thud-!
The underground ruins shook. The things charging at me were even larger than the Ice Golems — Iron Ogres, lumbering in at roughly four meters tall. Their limbs were as thick as pillars, and their skin gleamed like forged steel. An ordinary person would have fainted dead away the moment they laid eyes on one of these things. To me, though, they were simply—
"Too loud."
I concentrated my internal energy into my legs and launched myself skyward in a single bound, cutting through the air.
Swishhhh—!
Demonic energy shaped itself into an Unseen Sword, and I cleaved through an Iron Ogre's neck. A wet, sizzling sound followed as a crimson diagonal line scored itself across the ogre's throat. Its head slid loose and tumbled to the ground.
CRASH!
Swish, swish, swish — crash! crash! crash!
Before a hardened blade riding the peak of demonic qi, steel was no different from tofu. Twenty Iron Ogres crumbled into rubble, leaving behind thirty mid-to-low-grade iron-attribute mana stones.
"Thirty million won, baby!"
Fifteen kilograms of mid-grade macheel, though — I had no idea what that would fetch. I'd heard the price fluctuated with the market. Team Leader Jo would know, I figured. Whatever.
You have slain all 30 Iron Ogres.
· · ·
Issuing a C-Class Random Box.
I took stock of my inventory:
◈ Pre-Opening Ticket Fragments — 3/5
◈ Mid-to-Low Grade Frost-Attribute Mana Stones × 50
◈ Mid-to-Low Grade Iron-Attribute Mana Stones × 30
◈ E-Class Random Boxes × 3
◈ C-Class Random Boxes × 3
◈ Mid-Grade Macheel × 15kg
Well, that was a problem. I didn't think I'd have the capacity to make it all the way to Floor 15. But there was no time to hesitate.
Would you like to enter Floor 14?
"······Let's just go!"
Pin—
Floor 14. A dizzying cliff face unfolded before me, and monsters with feathers of pure steel shrieked in soprano.
PIAAAAAAANG——
Iron Hawks wheeled through the open air. Birds of iron, each the size of an elephant, glared with vertically slit eyeballs. If creatures like those strafed you with steel feathers across cliff terrain like this, even a seasoned awakener would have a rough go of it.
But this kind of landscape felt oddly familiar to me.
Muscle memory from Master's training, perhaps?
KWAZIK-!
I kicked off the ground and burst out of the safe zone, racing along the cliff face on waves of air-step footwork.
"Soul-Severing Heavenly Art. Black Heaven Thunderstorm (Heukcheonnoeu)."
KRRRUMBLE-!
Black lightning crashed down upon the cliff. A wide-area barrage of bolts with nowhere to dodge and nowhere to hide — escape was beyond any hope. The Iron Hawks were reduced to ash and scattered, leaving behind thirty mid-to-low-grade iron-attribute mana stones and fifteen kilograms of mid-grade macheel.
Now I really had nowhere to put anything. "No choice, then."
I pulled out four of the E-Class Random Boxes. I'd considered slathering them with fusion agent and merging them, but — adapting to the situation is what being MZ-generation is all about, no? So I opened them one at a time.
Creeeak—
◈ Even shipwrecked on a desert island, this angling set alone will keep you fed and living large. It reads the user's mind and moves fluidly at will, exerting a pulling force that draws fish toward the hook.
◈ Who said fishing was the aesthetics of patience? Just cast — and haul in the catch of a lifetime!
"Ooh, wow."
A rather curious item had come out. Come to think of it, my father loved fishing. He spent every day at home watching fishing YouTube videos and went out on trips with his friends. Sure, he'd bet on his catches, lose every single time, and get an earful from Mom for it — but still.
"Dad's going to love this."
Creeeak—
◈ A custom-blended cream from the goddess who governs all beauty. The instant it is applied, the body's cells are rebuilt anew, unveiling skin of flawless smoothness and elasticity.
"Oh-ho?"
What were the odds? Mom had been complaining lately about her skin and was shopping around for collagen and nutrient creams — and here was the ultimate superior-version of exactly that. This one was going to Mom as a gift.
Creeeak—
◈ A medicine crafted by the Divine Physician that melts away fat and promotes healthy circulation. Purges impurities from the blood vessels and clarifies the blood.
◈ There are those who have never taken it — but no one who has taken it only once. A truly legendary medicine.
◈ O ye who seek to master thy figure, drink the Slimming Elixir!
"Whoa."
The ladies would love this one. No wait — anyone carrying extra weight would love it, full stop. This I had to show to my Master. If it could be mass-produced, great. If not, oh well.
Creeeak—
Finally!
Would you like to expand your inventory?
"Yep."
Inventory has been expanded.
Weight Limit: 100kg
I swept everything else inside in one go. I'd been worried about whether to open the C-Class Random Boxes, but — phew. Crisis averted.
Would you like to enter Floor 15?
"Yep."
Floor 15 — another dizzying cliff. Fifty Iron Hawks. And one Thunder Hawk. Amid the flock of iron birds, an azure monstrosity had come into view: a thunder-bird wreathed in clouds, lightning crackling from its beak.
KRRRUMBLE-!
Of course, it was still about as threatening as a kitten.
"Black Heaven Thunderstorm!"
KRA-BOOOOM-!
All fifty Iron Hawks and the lone Thunder Hawk were charcoal-blackened in an instant and plummeted off the cliff. In came the spoils: fifty mid-to-low-grade iron-attribute mana stones, thirty kilograms of mid-grade macheel, one mid-grade lightning-attribute mana stone, and one Fragment of the Thunder Cloud. Money came rolling in by the fistful.
One hundred sixty mana stones of the mid-to-low grades alone — 160 million won. Plus a single mid-grade lightning-attribute mana stone at 50 million won. That was already 210 million won right there. And on top of that, add in the money Team Leader Jo had given me...
Roughly 10.2 billion won.
"Heh heh. The corners of my mouth just won't stay down."
Where would I live? What kind of car would I drive? What phone should I upgrade to?
"Oh-ho! What's this now? More rewards?"
An achievement no one has ever accomplished!
Choose one of the following:
1. A single draw of a Holy Sword brimming with divine power.
2. 2,000 Skill Points.
3. Wind-Grove Boots (footwear-type item).
4. One A-Class Random Box.
"Whoa! Absolute jackpot!"
I whooped with delight. And this time, I knew exactly what I wanted.
"Number 2. The 2,000 Skill Points."
Accepted.
2,000 Skill Points have been issued to Awakener Yu Jaewoo.
Current Points: 2,500p
I immediately pulled up the list of skills available for upgrade.
First — the World of Dream Souls.
World Manifestation — 2,000p
Links the World of Dream Souls to reality. Additionally, allows free travel to and from the World of Dream Souls even while awake. However, Contractors cannot leave the World of Dream Souls.
World Expansion — 10p per 1km of radius.
"Hmm—"
At 10 points per kilometer, a thousand points would buy me a hundred kilometers? Honestly, if it was just going to be Master and me living there together, wouldn't ten kilometers be plenty?
But... but here's the thing. Let's game out a worst-case scenario. Suppose we climb to around Floor 70, the monsters grow too powerful, and climbers can no longer scale the Tower at all. Suppose a hundred thousand unimaginable horrors come spilling out across the entire world.
This was already a world where fears of Tower collapse and the heavy hand of awakener regimes had sent waves of immigrants pouring across borders. Humanity would descend into chaos — and before long, we'd go extinct.
Not my problem, you say?
No. If humanity goes under, who's going to raise the cattle?
No humanity, no hanwoo beef. No gopchang. No bulgogi. No salmon. No tteokbokki. No fried chicken. No internet. No games. No dramas. No movies. No coffee. No manhwa. Absolutely unacceptable. Humanity must survive — for the sake of my delightful life.
I'd do my utmost to conquer the Tower, of course, but a man prepares for the worst. Viewed that way, the World of Dream Souls was the ideal shelter.
"Augh, enough doomsday novel-writing."
As if any of that would actually happen. This is the problem with an overactive imagination.
Priority one: Floors 48, 49, and 50. I wanted to clear them with [Legendary] achievements if possible, but even I had to admit that a legendary run on Floor 48 seemed like a stretch. Which was what led me to this skill.
Contractor Descent — 5,000p
"Hmm. I could ask Master to······. Hmm."
I'd think about it later.
"Pre-open."
Pre-opening Floor 50 of the Tower of Korea.
Deadline for conquering Floor 50: December 31, 2030
I pulled out my phone and checked the time. 9:13:46.
"Plenty of time. Exiting!"
Pin—