Chapter 33

Chapter 33. Tower - Convoy Escort (2)

Lee Soo-young and I collected the magic stones, as well as the ears we would exchange for merit points on the 10th floor.

Unlike the 10th-floor Goblins, none of them carried hand axes. Most of them carried crude stone axes or wooden clubs.

Come to think of it, how did the 10th-floor Goblins have iron hand axes?

Is there someone making axes and artificially releasing them?

“Isn’t it strange?”

Huh, did Lee Soo-young have the same question I did?

“How does all of that fit in your Inventory, oppa?”

Ah, no.

At Lee Soo-young’s question, I shrugged.

“I actually have a special item, and I’m using that. It’s not that my Inventory is especially large.”

If the Tower’s first floor could count as an item, then it was an item.

“Oh~! Really?”

Since the Tower had all kinds of strange things, Lee Soo-young seemed to accept it.

Around the time we had rested and the cockroach-extermination smoke had fully cleared, we decided to check the Goblin den just in case.

When we entered, we found a strange altar made of bones and an old Goblin holding a worn staff that gave off mana.

Perhaps because it was old and lacked strength, it had failed to escape in time and had collapsed while foaming at the mouth.

“Did it use some kind of shamanic spell to increase the number of Goblins? And is this Goblin a Goblin Shaman?”

Judging by the unpleasant mana it emitted, it felt like it would have been a fairly difficult fight if we had fought it head-on. As expected, people need to use their heads.

“Then should we destroy this altar too?”

“That’d be best.”

When I killed the still-living old Goblin and cut open its heart to extract the magic stone, there was a murky green ability stone inside.

“...Were ability stones this common?”

Strange. When I looked at the Tower Community, all I saw were posts complaining about whether ability stones actually existed.

There were very rare posts bragging about obtaining ability stones, but because there was no photo upload function, they had no credibility.

“There’s another ability stone? Wow, oppa, I think you’re really lucky. I never even saw an ability stone before meeting you.”

“We’ll identify this later too and distribute it in Points.”

“No. Honestly, I’d be embarrassed to receive a share this time. I think I did my part with the wolf pack, but you did everything on the 13th floor, oppa. If a relationship is going to last, it’s better to be thorough about things like this.”

Since I was the one who had made and installed the barricade, and I was the one who had used the cockroach-extermination smoke, that was fair.

“Mm, then I’ll just take this one.”

“Okay. Instead, let’s split the rest in half. Ah, I don’t need that creepy-looking staff.”

Since neither of us was greedy, the distribution ended quickly.

To be precise, because the loot did not all fit into Inventory, I had to store it on the Tower’s first floor and divide it once we returned to the 10th floor.

After finishing the exploration, we immediately went up to the 14th floor.

---

When we went up to the 14th floor, there were two other Climbers there besides us.

[Grant the request of Lororen the merchant.]

The quest to climb to the next floor appeared above the crystal.

Lee Soo-young and I, a western Climber who looked like a man in his mid-thirties, and a Southeast Asian Climber who looked like a woman in her early twenties looked at one another.

While we were flustered from meeting strangers, Lororen the merchant was delighted to see us.

“A-Are you truly Climbers?! I’m saved!”

At Lororen’s words, the western Climber said,

“The Tower says to grant your request. What would you like to ask of us? For your reference, if the request is unreasonable, we will simply withdraw, so speak carefully.”

What I heard was English, but perhaps because of the effect of the common ability “Translation,” I understood without difficulty.

The western Climber spoke with a very aristocratic-sounding British accent.

“Ah, my name is Lororen, and I am in charge of a small trading company.”

After introducing himself, Lororen cautiously made his request.

He explained the situation at some length, but to summarize, the mercenary company that was originally supposed to serve as escorts had collapsed from mass food poisoning, so he wanted us to safely convoy escort him and his cargo wagon to a nearby city called “York.”

He had to arrive in York by the day after tomorrow at the latest, but a flock of Harpies had settled along the only road to York, making passage impossible.

The distance was only around eight hours, but if he could not arrive by the day after tomorrow, he said he would be forced to pay an enormous contract penalty and go bankrupt.

“Please escort me. If you do, I will pay you the money I was going to give the mercenary company.”

“Oh, payment, is it? How much per person?”

“Five thousand Credits per person.”

Oh, we could secure some extra income too.

For an eight-hour distance, 5,000 Credits was a nice amount.

At Lororen’s words, the Southeast Asian female Climber said,

“Six thousand.”

“Pardon?”

“Seven thousand, eight thousand, nine thousand, ten thousand, eleven thousand... eleven thousand Credits per person.”

At the Southeast Asian Climber’s words, Lororen was flustered.

However, he flinched under the cold gaze of the female Climber and nodded.

“Yes, eleven thousand! I will pay it!”

At those words, the Southeast Asian Climber nodded and said,

“I will take this request.”

“I will take it as well.”

When the western Climber also agreed, Lee Soo-young and I agreed too.

“Th-Then I will prepare immediately. Please wait here!”

Once Lororen hurriedly ran off somewhere, the Climber who appeared to be western spoke.

“From what I have seen in the Community, there are sometimes quests where one joins forces with other Climbers. I suppose this is one such case?”

We had not even introduced ourselves yet.

I nodded at his words and said,

“It seems so. My name is Han Ji-woo. I’m from Korea. As for my ability, I obtained swordsmanship.”

At my words, the western man and the Southeast Asian woman looked at me with surprised eyes.

“I understand names and origins, but is it not dangerous to reveal your ability so carelessly?”

At the western man’s question, I shook my head.

“It’s not as if I told you anything especially important, and there’s nothing you can do with me merely saying swordsmanship is my ability. If we have to carry out a quest together, if we have to fight together, it’s information you’d naturally learn anyway.”

At my words, the Southeast Asian woman nodded.

“That is true. We do need to know one another’s general abilities. I am Le Thi Hoa from Vietnam. My ability is necromancy, a power that lets me make souls possess totems and fight. If applied, as I did just now when I found out that merchant was lying, I can read the tremble of the soul and distinguish truth from falsehood.”

Le Thi Hoa, the Vietnamese Climber, took two small totems from Inventory and controlled them.

The totems floated in the air and circled around Le Thi Hoa.

“Oh, it seems the merchant named Lororen tried to cut down our price. Thanks to the lady, we will receive a fair payment.”

The western Climber bowed lightly and introduced himself.

“I am from Britain, and my name is William Edvans. My ability is Magic Arrow.”

William, the British Climber, floated a Magic Arrow in the air.

“I learned fencing, so I do close combat as well. Perhaps one could call it a bit like American Gun Kata? No, since it is not guns but arrows, should I call it Arrow Kata?”

William took a thin rapier from Inventory and fastened it to his waist.

After William, Lee Soo-young introduced herself.

“I’m Lee Soo-young, from Korea like Ji-woo oppa, and I’m in a party with him. My ability is slime summoning. My slimes can use Water Orb Bullets. I’m using a bow as a support weapon.”

After climbing to the 14th floor, Lee Soo-young and her slimes had grown stronger, and they could now use Water Orb Bullets with a short cooldown.

“A bow! Come to think of it, Korea is famous for archery.”

When William showed interest, Lee Soo-young smiled and answered,

“I learned archery when I was younger too.”

The two sociable people chatted actively, while Le Thi Hoa and I merely listened quietly or responded with nods.

Around the time our introductions ended, Lororen arrived, pulling a cargo wagon.

Perhaps because two mules were pulling the cargo wagon, the wagon was not very fast.

“I’m here. Shall we depart right away?”

At Lororen’s words, William said,

“The road is rather long, so how about the two ladies ride in the wagon?”

“Huh? But....”

I stopped Lee Soo-young from speaking.

“It’s better to ride. If we get tired while walking, we can switch places then.”

We were going to walk for eight hours. There was no need for all of us to suffer.

It would have been nice if everyone could ride the wagon, but the only place where a person could sit was the driver’s seat, so it was impossible for all four of us to climb on.

At my words, Lee Soo-young nodded and climbed up, and Le Thi Hoa also did not refuse. She bowed her head slightly in thanks and climbed up as well.

Perhaps William liked the fact that I yielded the wagon’s seats, because he patted my shoulder once and winked.

It seemed he thought my suggestion that we switch later if we got tired was meant to ease their guilt.

No, I really said it because if I got tired, I was planning to tell them to move and sit there myself.

If we had to stand night watch, I was a man who truly believed in equality between men and women, and preferred taking the first watch.

That was me.

Where are men and women in the Tower?

If you can handle mana, you’re all superhuman.

---

“Whew, it’s hot. It seems this floor is in summer.”

William wiped his sweat with a handkerchief.

The weather was hot enough that even Le Thi Hoa, who came from a hot country, was sweating slightly.

While convoy escorting the cargo wagon, we talked about the floors each of us had passed so far. William said that on the 11th floor, he had subjugated a Goblin village of around thirty Goblins together with the 11th-floor residents.

On the 12th floor, he caught a monster fish through fishing, and on the 13th floor, he faced around twenty “Gnolls,” monsters that looked like bipedal hyenas.

Le Thi Hoa did not speak in detail either, but it seemed she had experienced roughly similar difficulty.

What is this? Are we the only ones with weird difficulty?

No matter how I listened, the quests Lee Soo-young and I had experienced seemed far more difficult.

The wolf pack led by the monster wolf, the eagle-sized flock of flying birds, and the abnormally multiplied Goblin den were all on a different scale of numbers, weren’t they?

Lee Soo-young seemed to have had the same thought as me, because she looked at me.

Could it be that a more difficult quest was assigned because we were a party? Or were we simply unlucky?

“What sort of quests did the two of you... oh dear. It seems enemies are approaching.”

Perhaps William had another ability besides Magic Arrow, because he detected the enemies’ approach.

At his words, I spread my qi sense and sensed a group that appeared to be Goblins cautiously approaching us from quite a distance away.

When I nodded, Lee Soo-young also summoned her slimes and got down from the cargo wagon.

Since everyone prepared for battle, Le Thi Hoa also took out her totems and summoned souls.

William launched a Magic Arrow at the Goblin hidden in the grass, making the first attack, then drew his sword.

“Three there, four there.”

For Lee Soo-young, who could not find the Goblins, I pointed out their locations.

The Goblins had green skin, so when they were hiding in the grass, they were not easy to see.

They say green is a color that is difficult to create naturally, but I have no idea how their skin color became green.

When Lee Soo-young looked carefully in the direction I pointed out, she seemed to find them and used Mulpung the slime to fire Water Orb Bullets.

“Han Ji-woo, it seems you have a detection-type ability as well. Miss Le Thi Hoa, there are five Goblins over there.”

At William’s words, Le Thi Hoa also sent one totem flying.

I wondered how she was supposed to fight with a piece of wood like that, even if it was possessed by a soul, but the totem that body-slammed a Goblin fell straight to the ground.

Then the Goblin writhed strangely before suddenly striking another Goblin’s head with its stone axe.

The sight sent a chill down my spine.

I realized that the totem was merely a means to carry a soul to the enemy.