Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 

“Three levels…?”

His heart beat one beat late, then harder.

This was not simply a matter of getting stronger.

It meant this Tower had acknowledged

‘a way of surviving.’

Not through fighting.

This was the result of enduring.

It was the first time he had risen three levels at once.

“This was… possible?”

It was the result of the survival he had built up.

But this was, unmistakably, a ‘bonus.’

“If it’s 7 days… there’ll be another one.”

Jin-woo continued slowly.

“14 days… 30 days… 100 days.”

What if he held out for 100 days?

What else would this Tower offer him?

If so, holding out might be faster growth than climbing.

Just thinking about it made the corners of his mouth lift.

When his Level rose, his physical abilities were strengthened.

Strength, stamina, recovery speed.

The number of Mana Stones he could mine in a day would naturally increase too.

‘That much leeway should come with it.’

But what really mattered was something else.

Ding!

《Level 5 requirement fulfilled.》

《You can acquire a new skill.》

“…It’s here.”

Jin-woo exhaled shortly.

Hunters acquired skills whenever they reached certain levels.

The first was upon Awakening.

The second was at Level 5.

The third was at Level 15.

In other words—

‘This is the second one.’

He slowly checked the message.

《Available Skill List》

《Tool Sense》

《Life Proficiency》

Two.

The choices were clear.

However, until he chose, he could not check the detailed effects of the skills.

There was no need to agonize over it.

The corners of Jin-woo’s mouth lifted slightly.

He was a regressor.

He knew what kind of results each skill produced.

‘Tool Sense.’

It was the skill he had used the longest while climbing to the ninety-eighth floor.

A skill that raised tool efficiency.

His body learned first how to use a tool most efficiently.

‘Life Proficiency.’

Cooking, cleaning, maintenance.

It was a skill that would clearly help with long-term survival.

But—

‘What I need right now isn’t living. It’s mining output.’

Jin-woo did not hesitate.

“Tool Sense.”

The moment he chose, a message appeared.

《Skill acquisition complete.》

《Skill: Tool Sense LV.1》

The choice was over.

Jin-woo stood up and moved his body lightly.

‘It’s definitely different.’

His physical condition had noticeably improved.

Energy surged through him, and each of his joints moved smoothly.

He could clearly feel the physical enhancement that came with his Level rising.

‘Good.’

Jin-woo headed straight for the mine.

He picked up the familiar pickaxe.

“Hmm….”

The moment he gripped it, he felt a subtle difference.

A sensation of it fitting perfectly in his hand.

It was as if he were holding a custom tool he had used for years.

“This feels good.”

That was when it happened.

CLANG—!

When he swung the pickaxe down, the system message reacted immediately.

《Tool Sense assists your work.》

It felt different from the very first strike.

His wrist found the angle first.

It was not breaking through with force.

It was the sensation of reading the grain, striking the gap, and finding the place where the bedrock would split first.

He could see the right point.

CLANG—!

CLANG—!

A rhythm formed.

The strength drained away, and the movements became shorter.

“Thirty-five.”

He was not even out of breath.

His arms were not trembling either.

And yet there were ten more piled up than yesterday.

The day had changed.

Jin-woo lost his words for a moment.

He looked at the piled Mana Stones and blinked.

What was surprising was that this was not all.

Even after mining this much—

‘I still have time left?’

He was not particularly short of breath.

His arms did not feel strained either.

“With this….”

He raised his head and called Lumina.

“How is it?”

A moment later, the evaluation followed.

[Work efficiency has greatly increased.]

[Mana Stone mining rate: increased by over 30% compared to before]

Jin-woo laughed shortly.

“I knew it.”

This was not work done by enduring through strength.

This was work that ‘understood’ the tool.

And that difference was being clearly proven in numbers.

***

Jin-woo loaded the Mana Stones onto the cart and came to the Main Room.

He put Mana Stones into the fuel tank.

[Energy Charge]

[Remaining Energy: 89%]

Lumina’s report continued.

Then—

《Magic Tower Stability: 36%》

He had put in twenty Mana Stones.

And yet Mana Stones still remained.

There was only one problem.

“…36?”

Jin-woo’s gaze changed.

《Stability danger zone entered.》

《Possibility of continuous facility damage increased.》

He had thought he had gained leeway.

He had not.

The Magic Tower was still on the verge of collapse.

‘With this much, maybe I can use the purification device a little longer?’

He immediately erased that thought.

‘No. It only means I can hold out a little longer.’

“Level and skills really are good.”

Thanks to them, he had gained a little leeway.

‘With this amount….’

“That door… I should be able to open it now.”

[Mana Stones required for repair secured.]

[Possible.]

The time had come to open that firmly closed door.

“I held out for 7 days.”

Jin-woo slowly looked at that door.

“Now I have to find a way to hold out longer.”

***

Jin-woo stood in front of the door and checked its condition.

The external reinforcement was finished. What remained was circuit repair.

From here on, a single slip of his fingertip could cause an ‘explosion.’

If it overflowed, the circuit would burst.

“Now… I can open it.”

Jin-woo said it as if confirming it to himself, then immediately moved his hands.

[Analysis.]

[‘Temporary repair’ possible with current materials.]

Jin-woo used his skill.

《You have used Magic Engineering.》

Blue light gathered in his eyes.

He removed the panel beside the wall and revealed the magic circuit inside.

“Connect the severed section here….”

Jin-woo connected the severed circuit with the Mana Crystal Fluid he had prepared.

The Magic Engraver trembled faintly.

If even a little too much flowed out, the Mana Crystal Fluid would ‘burn through’ the circuit.

After that came an explosion.

‘I got badly burned by this once before.’

It had blown up once.

That was when he realized it.

With Magic Engineering, the answer was not “a little more,” but “exactly.”

Jin-woo connected the circuit.

《Tool Sense assists you.》

His hand found the ‘correct position’ first.

The engraver did not slip, and the flow of Mana Crystal Fluid entered neither too much nor too little.

It felt as if he were marking the ‘answer’ by instinct, not by design.

“Good. This part is connected….”

He finished one.

Jin-woo did not stop and moved on to the next task.

He connected the severed places and replaced the worn sections.

Perhaps because it had been made by the Arcanist, even the device that simply opened the door had a high repair difficulty.

‘It definitely isn’t easy.’

Still, it was being fixed little by little.

“Lumina. What’s next?”

A brief silence.

Soon, Lumina’s analysis followed.

[Comparing records.]

[4 similar structures confirmed.]

[Common defect point analysis complete.]

Lumina marked a point that did not stand out.

The innermost place where the doorframe met the wall.

[This part.]

[Not the main circuit, but the auxiliary stabilizer.]

[The current mana flow cannot disperse at that point and is stagnating.]

“…Here?”

Jin-woo narrowed his eyes and examined the marked area.

On the surface, it looked intact.

Rather, it was well hidden.

[Surface damage is minor.]

[However, the internal connection has worn down.]

[If opening is attempted in this state, circuit overload is highly possible.]

[If compounded with the current reduced Magic Tower Stability, the probability of opening failure increases.]

“So… I need to stabilize it first.”

[Yes.]

[Restoration of the auxiliary stabilizer is the priority.]

Jin-woo let out a short breath.

“Good. Then this side first.”

He changed tools and leaned back toward the door.

***

It took two hours.

Jin-woo finished cleaning up the final connection.

[Repair Rate: 73%]

[Minimum standard for emergency opening reached.]

[Caution: Current Magic Tower Stability 36% / possibility of inability to reclose exists.]

“With the minimum… it’ll open, right?”

[Possible.]

It was a short answer.

Jin-woo exhaled lightly.

It had not been an easy task.

If he had not had the ‘Tool Sense’ skill, it would have taken far more time to raise the Repair Rate this high.

“Good thing I leveled up just in time.”

Muttering to himself, he shook the remaining Mana Crystal Fluid from his hands.

“Then… open it.”

[Emergency opening procedure beginning.]

Vwooom─.

A low, short vibration traveled up through the soles of his feet.

Then, with a heavy THUD—, the door slowly began to move.

Jin-woo reflexively lowered his stance.

With the exit behind him, he turned the tips of his feet toward the exit.

His body remembered the escape route first.

‘An unknown door causes accidents from the moment it opens.’

THUD.

The door opened all the way.

However, he sensed no presence at all.

There was not even the sound of wind.

“…Lumina. What’s the situation inside?”

[Internal connection complete.]

[Search results: no life-form response.]

That meant there was nothing.

Only then did Jin-woo relax a little.

But without letting his guard down completely, he carefully stepped inside.

“It’s dark.”

[Supplying energy to the internal lighting magic circuit.]

Flash!

With a short sound of illumination, the interior brightened.

Once the lights had fully come on, the inside gradually revealed itself.

“…It’s strangely clean.”

It was spacious, but empty.

There was no dust, no stench, no ‘traces of neglect.’

This kind of cleanliness was not comforting—

It was closer to the ominous feeling that someone was managing it.

‘It’s not a storage room… and it’s not a control room.’

The floor was smooth.

A material that seemed to mix metal and stone.

Almost no dust had gathered, and he could not smell the distinct odor of a space abandoned for a long time.

And—

in the exact center of that space.

Jin-woo’s gaze stopped.

“…That.”

A single circular structure rose slightly from the floor.

Its diameter was about the height of a person.

A shallow groove had been carved along its edge like a circle, and a low pedestal sat at the center.

On top of it was something shaped like an egg.

“An egg…?”

That was his first impression.

But when he drew closer, there was no ‘breathing’ unique to living creatures.

Instead, there was a grain of mana.

Beneath its glass-smooth surface, incredibly fine circuits lay submerged.

An energy similar to a Mana Stone brushed past him.

But it lacked the ‘rough grain’ unique to crystals.

It was too smooth to be a Mana Stone, and too orderly.

Without thinking, Jin-woo took another step closer.

“Lumina. What is that?”