5th Floor, The Girl Who Gazes at the Meteor Shower (1)
The 1st floor was leg strength, the 2nd was a flail.
The 3rd was an assassin type. It even dodged my attacks with quick footwork and double jumps...... but.
Clearing it wasn't hard.
The 4th floor was the same.
A thing with six arms wielded a six-sword style, and I had a pretty tough time with that one.
I barely cleared it with only 2 chances left, after all.
Only the long-awaited 5th floor remained.
I hadn't challenged it yet.
In my experience, the 5th floor combines all the difficulty of floors 1 through 4.
All the bosses that had appeared might show up at once, or it might have all of those bosses' abilities, or it might have nothing to do with them and just be monstrously strong.
Either way, it wouldn't be easy.
I needed to prepare a bit more thoroughly before going up.
My level had reached a whopping 25.
Considering how hard it was to raise even a single level, level 25 on a mere 4th floor was considerable progress.
I still wasn't satisfied.
I wanted to reach at least level 30.
Because the level soft cap was exactly 30. I'd challenged and cleared up to the 4th floor too hastily, so I hadn't been able to grind.
[Tier 4 99] Ahn Ho-young: Hyung-nim. You are climbing safely, I see.
[Apocalypse 4] Yu Hyun-sung: Yeah, what's up? I've been busy lately
[Tier 4 99] Ahn Ho-young: It seems the American side is preparing to clear the Apocalypse Tower.
Reading the chat, I couldn't hide my disbelief.
America, which had been pouring astronomical sums into producing even one more Tier 4 Tower graduate as fast as possible, suddenly wanted to send its kids off to kill themselves?
[Apocalypse 4] Yu Hyun-sung: Has the president of the American Awakener Association finally lost it?
[Tier 4 99] Ahn Ho-young: No. They seem serious. It appears they grew anxious after seeing you break through the 1st floor and now prepare to clear the 5th floor. You declared that you would never give up your Korean nationality, did you not, Hyung-nim?
Ah, I did say stuff like that every now and then. Out of boredom, I'd sometimes toss out jokes in the community like 'Make Korea Great!'
Well...... it's not that I suddenly had some national pride or anything; I was just loitering in the community, got bored, and ran my mouth.
Where would I get patriotism from? As long as I can eat curry with kimchi on top, I'm confident I can live well anywhere.
[Tier 4 99] Ahn Ho-young: Also, you blocked all private contact, Hyung-nim. So I received a message on your behalf. China is demanding information on the Apocalypse Tower.
[Apocalypse 4] Yu Hyun-sung: From who
[Tier 4 99] Ahn Ho-young: ......Who else would it be but you, Hyung-nim?
[Apocalypse 4] Yu Hyun-sung: How much are they offering
[Tier 4 99] Ahn Ho-young: They say that once you graduate from the Apocalypse Tower and come out, they will let you rule an entire nation.
Hm. You could see it as a generous offer, but there was nothing particularly in it for me. What would I do ruling a nation? It'd just mean more annoying work.
And making 'after graduating' the condition made them vicious bastards. They were probably planning to suck up all the information even if I died partway, then send Chinese latecomers up the Tower. Because they figured that if they could just somehow get through the [Apocalypse Tower 1st Floor], called the demonic stretch, there'd be a way forward after that.
[Apocalypse 4] Yu Hyun-sung: Aren't these some sneaky bastards?
[Tier 4 99] Ahn Ho-young: China is subtly applying pressure while still minding the eyes of other nations.
China was an Awakener superpower. It held a whopping 16 Tier 4 Tower graduates, overwhelming military power that couldn't even be compared to the 'nuclear-armed states' of the old days.
If they deployed even 3 of those Awakeners, Korea would be turned to dust.
When I logged into the online community, the news of China demanding information from me was a huge hot topic.
[Tier 1 41] Sally: Why is Mr. Yu so quiet at a time like this?
[Tier 4 19] Moto: That guy's surprisingly focused when he's in the middle of a clear. You may not know since you just joined recently.
[Tier 1 41] Sally: Huh?? Really? Until recently, he was hanging out in the community 24 hours a day.......
[Tier 3 63] John: China's a bunch of thugs too. Even if it's Yu Hyun-sung, trying to get for free the information he worked so hard to find while risking his life.
[Tier 2 19] Selma: It's obvious they're pretending to offer Yu Hyun-sung good terms while subtly putting pressure on him.
Sure enough, every post in the community was buzzing about me.
Man, as an attention seeker, I can't resist this. But I tended to hold back on the community while in the middle of a clear, so I didn't plan to stare at it for long.
Still, I should give at least a minimal answer.
[Apocalypse 4] Yu Hyun-sung: You'll give me a nation once I graduate and come out? Aw, well, if you're giving, I'll gratefully take it
[Apocalypse 4] Yu Hyun-sung: But I'll give you the Apocalypse Tower info after I graduate and come out too hehe
To sum it up, that'd be a FUCK U.
The moment I posted it, the chat window exploded in an instant. As I was enjoying it for a moment, a whisper came from Ho-young.
[Tier 4 99] Ahn Ho-young: Hyung-nim. Do you remember the Americans climbing the Tier 4 Tower's 80s floors? They are players America has been specially backing, and they appear to have received quite a lot of blessings and Divine Powers.
Hm. They hadn't reached the 90th floor yet, but anyway, he meant that American friends with plenty of talent were climbing the Tower at an insane speed.
[Tier 4 99] Ahn Ho-young: It seems they intend to strike some deal with those Americans and send them up to the Apocalypse Tower, so I believe you should be careful.
How could I not know about those rookies who'd reached the Tier 4 Tower at an insane speed? They'd been on my special watch list.
7 Americans, 4 Chinese. 5 Russians, 4 Indians, and many others.
Elite players backed by their respective nations, currently clearing the Tier 4 Tower's 70s and 80s floors.
They must have planned to get them graduated safely and make them SSS-Rank Awakeners, but now the fire was at their feet.
Because I'd broken through the Apocalypse Tower's 1st floor, which they'd thought impossible, and was shooting up to the 4th floor.
On top of that, there were said to be a whopping 9 players backed by the European Union alone.
“This'll be fun, at least.”
Rather than challenging the Apocalypse Tower alone, it'd be less lonely if someone, anyone, came up and climbed with me.
The problem was that those guys might try to kill me.
A guide, huh. Hm, actually, if China hadn't threatened me, I might at least have considered whether to write one.
Because it wouldn't have been the first time I wrote a guide for people chasing after me as latecomers.
But no way now.
China went and pulled something seriously cocky, so what can I do? I've got a temper too, you know.
Closing the community, I retried the 4th floor.
Watching this hot issue unfold right now would be really, really fun, but as a community addict, I know myself well.
Once I start, I'll end up staring at nothing but the community all night long.
Attention on me is nice and all, but if I neglected taking care of myself because I was staring at the community and then failed a clear and died, there'd be nothing more embarrassing.
To live as a community loiterer, as an attention seeker, I climb the Tower.
What an awesome reaction would come back when I reached the 100th floor?
Looking forward to that day.
***
[Level 30 reached!]
As a result of rolling around and rolling around without end, the skills [Pain Endurance] and [Mental Endurance] were finally merged too.
[The skills have been merged, and 'Steel Endurance' has been created.]
[Apocalypse 4] Yu Hyun-sung Lv. 30
▣ Stats
[Strength: 42] [Intelligence: 19]
[Agility: 48] [Stamina: 52]
[Mana: 1]
▣ Skills
[B]
Emergency Evasion 7% / Rapid Recovery 5%
One-Strike Slaughter 3% / Double Jump 3%
Rapid Acceleration 1% / Sixth Sense 1%
[C] Steel Endurance 3%
[D] Basic Weapon Mastery 12%
Clearing up to the 4th floor, I'd stacked up quite a few B-Rank skills. Who knew I'd acquire skills this fast?
The skill [Big Swing] had been merged into [One-Strike Slaughter]. Thanks to that, the skill's effect was enhanced, and the proficiency was combined too.
This alone was a tremendous spec build. I didn't know what was on the 5th floor, but it should be clearable enough.
Before heading to the 5th floor, I stopped by the Shop one last time. To buy a potion that was pricey but healed fairly serious wounds, along with some other miscellaneous goods.
“Challenging the 5th floor?”
“......Something's changed a lot?”
Unlike before, Aedric had shaved off his beard clean and gotten rid of his dark circles.
He was a completely different person.
Before, he'd been a shorty with shaggy gray beard and hair, giving off the feel of a burnt-out dwarf.
Now he had transformed into a sparkling, pretty young man with his gray hair neatly tied in a ponytail.
“Ahem, I tried changing to the...... hunk? style that's popular among young people these days. Don't I look rather Young? In today's terms...... hm...... they call it a 'pretty boy' style, I hear.”
“I see. The type who completely kills it the moment he opens his trap.”
“Anyway, now that Earth has hope, I ought to change too! One Apocalypse Tower challenger appearing means more challengers could keep appearing after that, doesn't it?”
“Well. I kind of doubt there'll be any for a while.......”
I guess the bigger your hopes, the better.
“If you're going to the 5th floor, let me give you a piece of advice.”
“I've got no money.”
“It's specially free.”
Wow. Free is great.
“As the finale of the tutorial, it's different from everything so far. I recommend equipping proper gear.”
“Hm, so it's like that after all.......”
The equipment I currently wore was leather armor I'd clumsily stitched together from hide and bone stripped from the bosses of floors 1 through 4. It was armor in name only; it was closer to rags with terrible performance.
My weapons were also the same ones I'd gotten on the 1st floor, so their performance was terrible.
“Once I enter the 5th floor, I can buy better equipment at better value, right?”
“Do you mean to throw away your life counting value for money?”
“Pretty kind for a merchant, huh? The merchants of the other difficulties were like machines.”
“Of course. Those are...... a kind of what you call NPCs. Fakes, so to speak. By contrast, everything here in the Apocalypse Tower is real. I, too, am truly alive.”
“Hm.”
Come to think of it, did he call the Tier 1 through Tier 4 Towers 'fake'?
Every stage there had to be played within set stories and set constraints, like a computer game.
The intelligent races and monsters that occasionally appeared all just repeated the same lines, and conversation was impossible.
In fact, the Apocalypse Tower was the first place with a being you could actually talk to like this.
“Every player who challenges the Apocalypse Tower is more than worthy of the world's goodwill.”
Tsk. When he puts it like that, it makes me think. A so-called merchant is even giving me advice to buy equipment without asking for anything in return.
'Is it really that bad?'
Was I gambling with my life too much just to save a bit of money?
I'm not some regressor or a genius with natural talent, so wasn't I getting too reckless just because I'd made it to the 4th floor easily?
“Okay. Got it.”
Right. Let's get a grip.
Wanting to save TP because I coveted the Shop's many blessings and sacred artifacts was fine, but it shouldn't get to the point of endangering my life.
It makes no sense to have money for cigarettes but no money for equipment.
Even I have to admit it's a bit, you know?
If I ended up clearing the 5th floor easily, it'd be a little disappointing, but if I lost my life saving TP, would it end at just a little disappointing?
Let's think. Keep the equipment to a minimum and fill in the gaps. I might not use it anymore once I get to the 5th floor.
But let's not skimp on buying skills. If I buy something I can keep using as I climb the Tower without throwing it away, it's not a waste at all.
[You have purchased the C-Rank skill 'Hardening.']
A C-Rank skill that made part of the body as hard as rock.
Without the 'Mana' stat, it was impossible to grow it past B-Rank, because later on you could harden your whole body, but not without mana.
“......You've bought quite an unusual skill.”
“It's the only useful thing I can get on the 4th floor.”
When I raised my hand and used Hardening, my right hand was dyed ink-black. When I tapped the iron pillar beside me with it, it made a crisp sound. It didn't hurt, and there was no damage.
Hardening ended in under 3 seconds, but that was enough.
I bought equipment focused on armor, too.
I changed into neat clothes and got a light buckler as well. Big iron shields were still too heavy for me to handle.
Fine~ Since it's come to this, let's just stop saving and splurge.
Save it and it turns to crap anyway; what wealth and glory am I trying to enjoy? I'm someone who's never kept a household ledger in my life.
“......Even so, aren't you living a bit too much without a plan?”
“Whatever, whatever. Just live loosely.”
Planned TP usage? Thoroughly calculated money management?
That stuff gives me a headache; I can't do it.
“Challenge 5th floor.”
As if they'd been waiting for me to say just that, messages popped up that Celestials had come swarming in.
No...... what's so interesting about clearing a mere 5th floor?
I don't get it.
From here on, the quest content subtly changed too.
<Apocalypse Tower 5th Floor>
The spire, the final prison.
Slay the Final Gatekeeper, Rank-and-File Knight Zeller, and meet the Princess!
*Objective: Meet the Princess after slaying the Gatekeeper
A princess? There's such a thing?
Usually, the themes of the Ascension Tower's floors 1 to 5 were similar to or connected with each other, and it really was all connected into one up to the 5th floor.
I'd been getting sick of nothing but corridors. It seemed the 5th floor would be my farewell to corridors.
[Challenge Attempts 20/20]
Why are they giving me so many challenge attempts again? To the point that it's unsettling.
Longsword in hand, shield in my left.
I slowly moved forward.
When I narrowed my eyes, a figure at the far end of the corridor revealed itself.
“What is that?”
[Lv] 55
[Final Gatekeeper, Rank-and-File Knight Zeller]
Clank! A knight of enormous build, wearing armor, walked out. The armor, whose coloring looked like a medieval knight and a Japanese samurai combined, was a form I'd never seen on Earth.
It had no left arm, and it slowly moved its right arm and brought its hand to the sword hanging at its left hip.
Then, it lowered its stance deeply.
Like a sprinter.
'Danger.......'
The moment I sensed something was wrong.
[You have been revived.]
Whoosh, a wind brushed my cheek.
When I opened my eyes, I was already dead.
“......Huh?”
[Challenge Attempts 19/20]