Chapter 6

Chapter 6

As soon as I cleared the first floor, I declared, as if to show off, that I was going straight to the second floor.

…Though it was a little embarrassing to say that after shouting it so confidently, in reality, I only arrived on the second floor sixteen hours later.

If you asked whether the act of “climbing” was necessary to ascend the Tower, the answer was NO.

If you could climb the Tower by scaling its outer wall, I wouldn’t have needed to go through this kind of trouble.

Every last nobody would have reached the Tower’s skyscraper by now.

To climb the Tower, someone with the proper qualifications had to ascend from the very bottom, floor by floor.

Then why did I wait sixteen whole hours when I could go to the next floor without delay with a single “click!”?

In all things, sequence mattered.

Besides, there was another reason I waited sixteen more hours on the first floor.

[Blink- Blink 3.5M in an instant.]

[Remaining Blink Uses: ■■■]

Blink’s cooldown was eight hours.

While climbing the first floor, I had used Blink twice.

Sixteen hours was the time needed to recharge Blink.

‘There’s nothing to lose by preparing.’

The Goblin Archer that appeared on the first floor had been something I experienced for the first time too.

There was no guarantee something like that wouldn’t happen again.

Right?

Since when does a crisis give advance warning before striking? Accidents happen suddenly.

Even if only to prepare for variables, the more cards I had in hand, the better.

[Moving to the 2nd floor.]

Flash!

When the flash faded, a vast forest thick with vegetation spread out before me.

Compared to the first floor, well?

It was a similar landscape.

I put my impressions aside and started walking.

I hadn’t entered the Tower to sightsee.

Around the time I was wandering nearby while searching through my memory, the target appeared.

A Goblin holding a sword.

However, it was clearly a completely different thing from the Goblin I had encountered on the first floor.

Starting with its build, everything from its muscle mass to the subtle aura it gave off was different.

Just because they were Goblins didn’t mean they were all the same Goblin.

“A Goblin Warrior.”

That was the bastard’s individual name.

Monsters evolved.

For reference, this wasn’t evolution with a fixed tech tree like PoXmonsters.

Just as mankind had different races living in the Arctic and Africa in order to adapt to their environments, monsters also had their stats change through evolution.

In other words, it meant that a Goblin holding a sword couldn’t transform into a [Goblin Archer] just because it switched to a bow.

Its aptitude and stats had to be suitable for holding a bow.

Only after undergoing evolution could it finally become a Goblin Archer.

After undergoing evolutions that branched into dozens of paths like that, monsters transformed into higher species.

For example, only a small number of Goblins that surpassed the limits of their race became Hobgoblins.

“Grrr.”

At almost the same timing, the Goblin Warrior realized I was there and glared.

Its breath stank.

So badly that I couldn’t even bring myself to step closer.

I hadn’t felt it on the first floor, but the sense of reality was completely different from watching through a monitor.

I never thought I would come all the way here and end up reviewing a Goblin’s bad breath.

I should deal with it quickly.

“Blink.”

[Remaining Blink Uses: ■■□]

My vision flipped, and I closed in on the Goblin Warrior.

At point-blank range, I operated the Wand.

“Lightning.”

At the same time as the activation word, electric current rippled from the tip of the Wand.

“Grung?”

The Goblin Warrior quickly turned around after sensing my presence, but… it was too late.

Because I was faster.

Crackle-

A bolt of electricity shot out in a straight line and pierced through the Goblin Warrior, and smoke billowed up from the flesh where the Wand had touched it.

But it didn’t die in one hit.

‘As expected, it’s clearly different from the Goblin I faced on the first floor.’

A normal Goblin died if I slammed Lightning into it at zero range.

The monster’s class had become stronger, but this was also the limit of a nonlethal spell.

Until now, I had used the trick of using Blink to cast it at zero range, but… its basic power was too weak.

In the first place, Lightning had been made for the purpose of buying time for a porter to escape.

It might be one thing in a Dungeon, but it wasn’t meant to be used in the Tower.

When I returned to the city, I would have to solve this too- I was thinking that when it happened.

“Grararawang!”

Drooling, the Goblin Warrior shook me off.

Maybe I had spun several times in the air, because the ground and sky alternated in my vision before one knee and the sole of one foot touched the ground.

It was as though I had performed a breakfall.

Holy shit, how did I do that?

My heart was still pounding.

As for breakfalls, I hadn’t used one even once since I learned them at a taekwondo gym in elementary school.

Of course, I had long since forgotten the theory.

‘I don’t even know how.’

Was that just exquisitely good luck?

“Grrr!”

Ah, right. I was in the middle of a fight.

Taking advantage of the moment while I was dazed, the Goblin Warrior came charging with both eyes glaring.

Judging by its momentum alone, it was like a bulldozer.

I made a quick judgment.

This was a body whose stamina and every other stat were trash.

I couldn’t dodge that.

I had to find another way.

The first thing that came to mind was Instant Kill, Blink’s special ability, but.

‘No.’

I decided to save Instant Kill.

Once Instant Kill was used, its cooldown was a whole month.

It wasn’t cost-effective to use it on some Goblin.

“Phew.”

I let out a long breath and operated the Wand.

Even my patented point-blank Lightning hadn’t killed it in one shot.

Considering Lightning’s power, a half-baked method probably wouldn’t work.

Should I use it again on the part I had just hit with the spell?

Or should I paralyze its legs and lower its speed?

“No, here.”

A little higher than the Goblin Warrior.

More precisely, I aimed the Wand at a dry old tree and activated the spell.

“Lightning, Lightning-”

When the electricity surging from the Wand pierced through the old tree, it broke with a loud crack, and the dried tree came crashing down over the Goblin Warrior.

It all happened in an instant.

THUD!

Trampled beneath the old tree, the Goblin Warrior let out a hideous roar and thrashed, and every time it moved, I could hear the dry tree splitting in real time.

‘This won’t hold it for long.’

It was only a temporary measure to pin down the Goblin Warrior’s feet.

I took out the spare Wand I had prepared before entering the Tower.

The spell stored in the spare Wand was also Lightning.

I held one Wand in each hand.

It felt far more stable than holding a Wand in one hand.

The reason I couldn’t bring down the Goblin Warrior?

Simple.

Because Lightning, a self-defense spell, had dramatically insufficient firepower.

If I had a Wand containing another spell like back in the Dungeon, I could have used it to combine something like the higher-grade spell Lightning Strike, but… realistically, that was impossible.

However.

If the cause of my failure to bring the bastard down was firepower, then I just had to raise the firepower.

Both hands gripping the Wands began to tingle.

Ahh, this cool, heavy sensation. It’s been a while.

It was time to return to being Pingkkyu Gyongdyu, the one who had conquered the global server with the pinnacle of electric magic.

“Lightning-”

Craaaaackle-!

Electricity burst forth as if both my arms might tear off at any moment.

The indiscriminate bombardment only ended after the spells stored in the Wands had been completely emptied.

[You have defeated the Goblin Warrior.]

[You have cleared the 2nd floor.]

Right after the Goblin Warrior became a black heap of charcoal, system windows appeared.

I did it.

Fortunately, unlike the first floor, the second floor was exactly the same as the game knowledge I knew.

Even in the game, it ended as long as you took down the Goblin Warrior.

“Now I can finally rest a little.”

On top of that.

[Reading total subjugation score.]

[You have been selected as MVP.]

[2nd floor clear reward is being calculated. Please wait.]

After the first floor, I was selected as MVP on the second floor too.

I still hadn’t even received the first floor reward, so I was looking forward to seeing just how tremendous the reward would be once it was added together with the second floor reward.

Honestly, I had achieved MVP twice. It was only natural to have some expectations, wasn’t it?

Even when I played the game, it had never been stingy when it came to rewards like this.

As harsh as the difficulty was, the rewards had been flashy too.

But something felt a little strange.

‘Was there ever a time when it told me to wait like this?’

The second floor was one thing, but quite a bit of time had passed since I cleared the first floor, and yet there was still no news.

Normally, it would have paid out the reward immediately after I cleared it.

“Well, does it matter?”

It wasn’t urgent right now.

I had planned to reorganize after climbing the second floor anyway.

“Should I head back now?”

Maybe it was because I had been moving a body I didn’t usually use, but my whole body ached.

If I simply lay down like this, I could sleep dead to the world without caring about the Tower or anything else.

I was just about to exit the Tower when it happened.

“Hm?”

Suddenly, an incongruous structure caught my eye.

In the middle of the vast forest thick with vegetation, an iron door stood all by itself.

Was something like that there?

I carefully searched through my memory, but nothing came to mind.

It was a structure I had never seen even once in the game.

Then the question was why I hadn’t seen it from the moment I entered the second floor until now….

When I thought about it, it was obvious.

As soon as I arrived on the second floor, the Goblin Warrior charged at me as if it would tear me to pieces at any moment, so there was no way I had the leisure to look at a place like that.

An unknown space even I didn’t know about.

That was enough to stimulate my curiosity as a gamer.

‘Hmm….’

If I exited the Tower like this, it would be impossible to return to the second floor.

When I entered the Tower again, I would start from the third floor.

In other words, this was my last chance to investigate that structure.

Although I had used up all the Wands I brought from outside, I could still use Blink two more times.

‘I still have the [Special Ability Reset Elixir] I got as a reward from the Dungeon too.’

If push came to shove, I could use Instant Kill.

Or I could just exit the Tower.

Wait, looking at it this way, it’s actually worth trying…?

When I listed the cards I had one by one, things didn’t seem that unfavorable.

“Let’s go.”

An opportunity like this in the Tower was rare.

Clank!

I spiritedly pulled on the door, but unfortunately, it was locked with a padlock.

Then I remembered the key I had picked up on the first floor.

When I immediately inserted it into the lock, it fit perfectly, as if they were a set.

Click-!

When I turned the key just like that, the firmly locked iron door opened.

[Unexplored Area is opening.]

[You are the first to discover an Unexplored Area. Your name will be added to the Hall of Fame.]

Apparently, I had set foot in a place no one else had ever found.

Not a bad omen.

The moment I grinned and crossed through the iron door.

“Urgh.”

In an instant, my vision spun round and round, and dizziness struck me.

I tried to get my balance somehow, but my body wouldn’t listen.

THUD!

Along with the sensation of my body tipping over, my consciousness blurred.

***

[Status Effect: You have been poisoned by sleep poison.]

***

“Ugh, where am I…?”

Clutching the back of my neck, I raised myself up.

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was an endless Milky Way spreading above me.

Below it was a desert filled with white sand, and the grains reflected hundreds, thousands of specks of starlight as they flashed.

It was a magnificent sight.

So much so that it made me wonder if this place was the afterlife.

The moment I entered beyond the iron door, I collapsed from dizziness, and I saw a system window saying I had been poisoned by sleep poison.

And the place where I opened my eyes afterward was right here.

‘Come to think of it….’

There was a time when I had heard a certain bit of theory-crafting.

[It’s still in development, but next renewal, something called the Goddess’s Spring is being added. Only users who unlock certain conditions can enter, and if you touch the Goddess’s Spring, you’re granted a benefit. Well, believe it or not. Suit yourself.]

It was a post that had once gone up in the community.

The user who posted it was someone who claimed to be an employee of the game company.

Most of the users who saw the post thought it was a lie.

I was the same.

Given the nature of communities crawling with anonymous users, there was no way to prove it even if someone lied.

Though the post had been deleted only a few minutes after it was uploaded….

“Could that have actually been true?”

Apparently, it seemed to be true.

The circumstances were one thing, and the surrounding scenery looked extremely similar to the post’s description.

It said that to reach the Goddess’s Spring, you had to unlock certain conditions, right?

‘Could that condition be clearing Extreme Mode?’

I didn’t know.

But the possibility was high.

Until now, no user had appeared claiming to have discovered the Goddess’s Spring.

Anyway, judging by the fact that I was fine like this…

‘I don’t think I’m dead.’

I thought while examining my body.

However, I couldn’t be certain.

While I was under the effects of sleep poison, no one knew what was happening to my body.

For reference, what was here wasn’t my physical body.

According to the post, the version of me standing here was only a thought-form created by projecting my consciousness.

I should finish what I had to do and get out quickly.

I didn’t know what was happening in reality.

In the middle of the broad desert, I advanced toward the Goddess’s Spring standing all alone.

When I finally touched the Goddess’s Spring.

[The clear rewards for the 1st and 2nd floors have been settled.]

[Through the Goddess’s Spring’s benefit, clear rewards will be converted into EXP for [Trait: Infinite Blink].]

A system window appeared.

[Infinite Blink: Lv. 1 → Lv. 2]

Blink distance increases from 3.5M to 3.7M.

“Oh!”

I exclaimed while reading through the system windows that appeared one after another.

It was a completely unexpected gain.

To think Infinite Blink could grow.

[[Infinite Blink] Trait is evolving.]

Along with the evolution, choices appeared.

***

-[Path of Fire]: When Blink is activated, intense flames are scattered along the Blink path. These flames deal continuous damage to enemies on the path and temporarily inflict status effect- Flame.

-[Path of Frost]: Scatter cold frost along the Blink path, inflicting status effect- Frostbite on enemies along the path. Enemies afflicted with Frostbite have their movement speed and attack speed greatly reduced.

-[Control Tower]: Within Blink’s maximum range, you can precisely control Blink distance.

-[One More!]: Blink uses increase by 1.

***

There were four choices I could pick from for evolution.

I had to choose only one of them.

All of them looked attractive, which only made it a shame.

That I had to choose exactly one of them.

But if I absolutely had to pick only one, there was something I had firmly decided on.

[Selection complete.]

[Evolved Trait has been applied to Infinite Blink.]

I was going back stronger.