Chapter 8

Chapter 8. Tower - Residential Tier 10th Floor (3)

The library was the largest building in the center of the city.

Shaped like an ancient palace, the library had an old-fashioned elegance that made it seem like a cultural asset in and of itself.

When I tried to enter the library, a notice appeared, and some invisible barrier reflected the light, revealing its form.

[Admission fee is 100 Credits.]

When I took 100 Credits out of my pocket, the Credits disappeared, and the notice floating in the air and the barrier vanished along with them.

“100 Credits? That’s expensive. No, is it cheap?”

There was probably some kind of magic cast on it. Even so, it felt fascinating.

When I entered the library, a tremendous number of books came into view.

There were quite a few people who looked like patrons, and every single one of them had a sword at their waist or something like a magic staff slung across their back.

Native residents and Climbers were not very different in appearance, but after walking around the city, I had come to understand the difference between native residents and Climbers. It was whether they carried weapons.

Native residents almost never had reason to leave the city, so aside from the guards protecting the city gates surrounding the city or standing watch on top of the walls, they did not carry weapons.

On the other hand, Climbers had to leave the city at any time, hunt monsters to gather Shop Points, or climb to the upper floors, so they carried weapons.

I did not know what it was like on the higher floors, but with the Inventory of the 10th-floor range, the weight limit made it impossible to put weapons inside, so people had no choice but to carry them.

If I had been an outgoing person, I would have tried talking to someone, but I was not that kind of person, so I looked through the books.

There were various kinds of books, including novels, humanities, magic, martial arts, geography, history, and philosophy.

Since I had learned Bluewood Sword, I took out a swordsmanship book from the martial arts section, but rather than martial arts manuals, they were all useless books about things like the proper mindset when swinging a sword and the definition of a sword.

The magic section, which interested me next after martial arts, also had only books about what magic was and what kinds of magic existed, rather than how to learn magic.

Since magic was unfamiliar to me, they were a little interesting, but they were not particularly helpful.

Well, perhaps it would be strange for a place that anyone could enter to have a method for learning a meaningful ability.

Hadn’t all Climbers received one superpower on the 1st floor?

Thinking that, I walked around between the shelves and discovered a book titled <Ability Rarity 1 Obtainable in the Tower, ‘Ga’ Section, Volume 1>.

Beside ‘Ga’ Section Volume 1 were books up to Volume 4, and beside them, follow-up volumes labeled Gya, Geo, Gyeo, Go, Gyo, and so on filled several bookshelves.

The preface of the ‘Ga’ section said that abilities had rarities, and in the classification of this book, the closer the rarity was to 1, the more common the ability was, while the closer it was to 10, the rarer it was.

I took out Volume 1 of the ‘Da’ section and checked once to see whether the ability called ‘Multidimensional Avatar’ was written there too.

Since it started with ‘Da,’ I only needed to look from the first table of contents, but perhaps it was not a rarity 1 ability, because I could not find the keyword ‘multidimensional.’

Well, even just from the name, it did not seem like a rarity 1 ability.

Thinking that, I looked to see if there were books on ‘rarity 2,’ but I could not find any.

I decided to ask a librarian if I found one later, then took out Volume 1 of the ‘Cheo’ section and checked the table of contents for ‘Bluewood Sword.’

“Cheo, Cheok, Cheon, Cheol, Cheom, Cheop... not in Volume 1. Volume 2 has Cheot, Cheong. From page 160... Bluewood, Bluewood... here it is.”

<Bluewood Sword. Rarity 1.

A basic swordsmanship taught to children in the Cheon Family, it is a flowing sword art that contains the energy of wood among the Five Elements and draws trajectories like willow leaves scattering in the wind.

To use it properly, one is known to need to learn Bluewood Art or a cultivation method that possesses the energy of wood among the Five Elements.>

“Bluewood Art?”

Because the name was similar, I could find it right away.

<Bluewood Art. Rarity 1.

A basic cultivation method taught to children in the Cheon Family, it is qigong that stores the qi of wood among the Five Elements in the qi center. Because it refines and contains energy that is firm like a tree and soft like the wind, it suits martial arts that value softness, and in the Cheon Family, it is taught together with Bluewood Sword and Bluewood Step.>

“Bluewood Step? No, more importantly, qigong? Is this really a martial arts novel?”

When I looked it up, Bluewood Step was a footwork method.

But I obtained Bluewood Sword through an ability stone, so where was I supposed to obtain the other things, Bluewood Art and Bluewood Step?

Was it telling me to figure it out myself with my own ability?

The Tower was more unfriendly than I had expected.

There was no more information to find in the library.

Agent K had also recommended stopping by the library to search for information if I got stuck while climbing the Tower, not visiting the library before even climbing.

Well, since my goal had been to learn about my ability, I had at least achieved the minimum purpose.

Still, I did want to see ‘Ability Rarity 2.’

Thinking that, I looked around and spotted an old man in a librarian’s outfit reading a book in a secluded corner of the library.

“Excuse me.”

When I approached the old librarian and spoke to him, the old man looked at me in surprise.

“...Did you just speak to me?”

At the old librarian’s question, I looked around.

It was a secluded spot between the bookshelves, and there was no one around.

“Yes. There’s no one around except you, sir.”

At my answer, the old librarian looked at me fixedly in admiration.

“Huh, it has been a very long time since I saw someone this talentless.”

“...Isn’t that rather rude to say to someone you’ve just met?”

I had only meant to ask where the rarity 2 section was, only to hear something this rude.

It was absurd.

Perhaps because my expression showed it clearly, the old librarian apologized to me.

“Ha ha ha, my apologies. It was fascinating that you discovered me, so while staring at you, I ended up looking at your talent as well.”

Isn’t that even ruder?

“When you say it’s fascinating that I discovered you, were you perhaps hiding yourself with magic?”

Thinking about the magic at the library entrance, it was not strange.

“That’s right. In the long history of the Tower, you are the third person to discover me. You may be proud enough of that.”

At the old librarian’s words, I felt that he was an existence incomparable to me.

“Sir, are you an existence who performs ‘work for the Tower’?”

Perhaps understanding what I meant, the old librarian nodded.

“Something similar. I am not a native resident. You have no talent for the ‘Tower,’ but you do have talent for ‘magic.’”

Were talent for the Tower and talent for magic separate things?

“Good. Since you are the first person in an extremely long time to discover me, ask whatever you are curious about. As a reward, I will answer what I can.”

“Uh, then....”

After thinking for a moment, I asked the most fundamental question behind all the doubts I had.

“What is the purpose of the Tower’s existence?”

“Hah! What a question, trying to take the answer for free. The answer is something you will learn as you climb the Tower.”

It was not a proper answer, but the old librarian seemed to like me even more.

“Then what are native residents?”

“The same answer as just now.”

“What kind of work do people like you do, sir?”

At my question, the old librarian frowned.

However, rather than frowning because my question displeased him, it felt as if he was frowning because he was thinking it over.

“...I cannot answer that now. With your talent, it will be difficult, but try reaching the upper floors and coming to find me. Then I should be able to answer.”

At those words, I realized that the old librarian was something like a clone, just like me.

Then was the old woman who had expanded my Inventory also an existence similar to the old librarian?

Perhaps seeing that I had realized something, the old librarian looked at me with an interested smile.

“Continue asking.”

“What is the talent for the Tower that you mentioned earlier?”

“Talent for slaughter. As for the details, if you climb the Tower... no, if it is you, I think you will learn before long. Do you have any Shop Points?”

At the old librarian’s question, I shook my head.

“No. I used them all to expand my Inventory.”

“I see. Take this.”

The old librarian threw me a small magic stone.

“Exchange that for Shop Points, then buy ‘Mana Growth Elixir 1’ from the shop.”

As the old librarian told me, I exchanged the magic stone for 1 point and bought the elixir.

There were five elixirs in total, each named after a different stat.

The moment I bought ‘Mana Growth Elixir 1,’ the price changed to 10 points.

When I read the product description, it said ‘Elixir 1’ was an elixir that increased a stat by 1 when the stat was below 10, and had no effect once it was 10 or higher.

“Drink it.”

I immediately opened the elixir’s cap and downed it in one go.

“Oh, green grape flavor.”

No sooner had I felt the sweet taste than I felt something inside me wriggle and flow.

“Do not lose that sensation. And look at my hand.”

As the old librarian said, I focused on the flowing sensation inside my body and looked at his hand.

There was nothing in his hand.

No, there was not nothing. Something was there.

Something like what was flowing inside my body.

“Six?”

At my murmur, the old librarian grinned.

“Then what is this?”

The old man’s hand had not changed at all, but something had changed.

“Seven? Nine, six, two, one, uh... C?”

Numbers faintly rose, transparent, at the tips of his fingers, and continued changing.

“Correct. Check your Status Window. Is your Mana not around 3 or 4?”

[Name: Han Ji-woo / Age: 21]

[Strength: 9 / Agility: 11 / Stamina: 9 / Intelligence: 15 / Mana: 4]

[Status: Normal]

[Ability: Multidimensional Avatar Lv 10, Bluewood Sword Lv 15]

It was true. My Mana, which had been 1, had risen to 4.

The elixir’s effect was supposed to raise Mana by 1, though?

When I was surprised, the old librarian smiled and said,

“The Status Window only displays your status, exactly as it says. The fact that your Mana rises by 1 through the elixir means that the elixir contains enough Mana to reliably raise it by 1. Usually, when someone has almost no Mana like you, they cannot sense the Mana inside their body. But you sensed it, and I merely helped you absorb more of the Mana contained in that elixir.”

“Those numbers?”

“When one has just begun to feel Mana, their detection ability is at its highest, so I helped you feel it clearly. I only kept the Mana from escaping your body, so you likely did not feel my help.”

At the old librarian’s answer, I bowed my head and thanked him.

In a way, this was a fortuitous encounter.

“Thank you.”

At my thanks, the old librarian waved his hand.

“It is nothing. I called it help, but it was only about the same as holding the hand of a child who has just begun to toddle so they can stand up. It was such a simple thing that I feel embarrassed to call it help. In the end, the one who took his first steps was the child through his own effort, and the one who absorbed the Mana was you through your talent.”

“You mean my talent for magic, separate from the Tower.”

“Yes.”

Still, it was a relief that I had talent for something.

“You will learn if you look at the community, but Climbers’ bodies do not age. And time flows differently from your world as well. Instead of the Tower’s method, try growing through the method of a mage by taking a long time. I think that would suit you better.”

Good heavens! So the community shitposts saying aging stopped were true?

“How long would it take that way?”

“Let me see... would about a thousand years be enough?”

...A thousand years? Could that really be called having talent?

“A thousand years is a shorter time than you might think. At the very least, if you were to grow through the Tower’s method, even ten thousand years would not be enough for you. Compared to ten thousand years, a thousand years is short.”