Players who use weapons.
At present, there were four stages of mastery by which they were divided.
The 1st stage was the Fighter, who fought using only weapons and physical ability.
Kim Hyeong-taek, whom I had met on the 4th floor, fell into this category.
Usually, these were people who didn’t know how to use mana or had no mana skill at all.
“Even if you have a mana skill, putting it to use in combat is another matter entirely.”
The 2nd stage was the Mana User.
This referred to players who fought by strengthening their bodies with mana.
The 3rd stage, the one I currently belonged to, was the Enchanter.
This referred to players who could attack by loading mana into their weapons.
“Normally, you’re supposed to climb the stages step by step, but if you already know how, there’s no reason to.”
From the moment my Mana stat went over 10, I had been an Enchanter.
However, most ordinary players hit a wall at this stage.
‘And the 4th stage, which is rated the strongest at this point.’
Aura User.
At this point, the known Aura Users numbered just over 1,000.
Talent and effort.
It was a realm that only players who possessed everything could reach.
‘Of course, there are three more stages after that, but they’re not realms the current me can aim for.’
There was now one week left until my spar with Director Lee Hoon-pyo.
Over the past stretch of time, I had finished clearing up to the 8th floor, and the 9th floor was the last one left before me.
‘Because a Trial is waiting on the 10th floor.’
Among the Tower’s floors, those that were multiples of 10 had villages.
Places where the Tower’s residents, commonly called NPCs, lived.
And on each of those floors, there existed a Trial that had not yet been revealed to the world.
“I want to finish everything, including the Trial, within a week.”
Creeeak—
When I leaned back, the chair tilted back along with me.
“Haa—, I do kind of want to rest.”
Zzzing—
My phone buzzed and vibrated.
Judging by the short vibration, it seemed to be a text from someone.
-Han Ji-won: Can we meet for a bit?
‘Han Ji-won? What’s this about?’
After the 5th floor, I had uploaded a total of four videos using the drones I got from Han Ji-won.
The results were a massive hit.
With just four videos uploaded, the channel had 400,000 subscribers.
Total views had passed 30 million.
‘Why do people like watching other people fight so much?’
According to Han Ji-won, momentum was important on NewTube.
Ever since the Tower appeared, the interests of everyone in the world, regardless of age or gender, had been set.
That was why, she said, the view counts couldn’t help but be overwhelmingly high.
“She said it’d take a while to get monetized since it’s an overseas platform.”
The Tower’s upper floors couldn’t be cleared alone.
That was why a guild was necessary.
And to maintain a guild, a huge sum of money was essential.
‘It’ll take a lot of money to gather those guys back together.’
Shaaa—
I finished a quick shower and changed clothes.
A black hoodie.
A new piece of clothing I had just bought after getting an earful from Han Ji-won.
“Guess I should get going.”
Clack— Beep, beep, beep.
Even on my way to the café, I didn’t stop thinking.
There was a skill I absolutely needed to clear the 9th floor perfectly, and for the climb ahead.
Jingle— Jingle—
“Welcome.”
After receiving the staff member’s greeting, I looked around, and Han Ji-won was already sitting there.
Step— Step—
“You’re here already? There’s still time until—”
“That outfit again?”
“Huh?”
Ten seconds since I had walked into the café.
No, it had probably been even shorter than that.
Han Ji-won was irritated, her face full of dissatisfaction.
“I just ordered this one, though?”
“No, I mean why is it a black hoodie again?! I told you to buy other clothes!”
Swish—
Han Ji-won thrust her phone toward my face.
On the screen, the comment section of the video I had uploaded just yesterday came into view at a glance.
└With skills like that, he must be making decent money, so why are his clothes always the same?
└For real, a hoodie in summer? Do players not feel the heat?
└Or is that gear too? Didn’t Cheongnyeom Guild say they made something recently?
└Nah, whatever that is, it’s not this.
└If he did a livestream I’d at least send a donation. Even I feel sorry for him just watching.
“You said the revenue hasn’t come in yet. I’ll just stay like this until then.”
“Where did you sell off all the mana stones you got from clearing floors?”
“Those? They’re probably in the wardrobe.”
“What are you, a squirrel? Why are you hoarding them?! If you need money, you’re supposed to take them out and use them!”
Han Ji-won had changed a lot in the meantime too.
Until just two weeks ago, she would tremble if our eyes so much as met, but now she said everything she wanted to say.
Or maybe this had been her personality all along.
“Or at least wear some armor. Not just this video, but people are going crazy on every video asking if that’s the only outfit you own.”
“It’s only single-digit floors. What would I need gear for already?”
The things I could actually use cost billions of won at the very least.
Anything cheaper had lackluster effects and would just get in the way of my movements.
“Whew—, don’t you at least have some color other than black?”
“In combat, black is excellent for stealth—”
“Black top, black pants, black shoes, even black socks! Your skin tone is fair to begin with, so what’s the point of wearing only black? If you’re going that far, why not put on camo paint too?”
Han Ji-won hoisted up her coffee cup and gulped the hot coffee down in one go, as if it were water.
GULP—
She set the cup down, shot up from her seat, and grabbed my arm tight.
“Let’s go. Right now.”
“Where?”
“Shopping. We’re going to buy you clothes.”
I stared blankly at her face.
An attitude that treated it as a matter of course and didn’t leave me any room to resist.
“Wait, so the reason you called me out today was—”
“I’m telling you, the fans are all trashing you! I’m getting flak too!”
She shook my arm hard.
Even I found myself unfamiliar in that moment, at a loss for what to do.
‘Can a person really change this much?’
People didn’t usually approach me.
Back in the lobby two weeks ago, I had merely glanced at someone, and he had trembled as if terrified.
Yet this small-framed woman paid it no mind and calmly grabbed my arm and pulled.
It was almost laughable how I couldn’t even refuse and just let myself be dragged along.
‘What a novel experience.’
In the end, I let out a short sigh and got up from my seat.
As if she had been waiting for it, Han Ji-won grabbed my arm even tighter.
“Let’s go to the department store nearby. From now on, you wear whatever I pick out for you, no exceptions.”
I nodded with an indifferent expression.
With that, we left the café, and our steps naturally headed toward the nearby department store.
…….
The shopping at the department store went at Han Ji-won’s pace.
“Try this on.”
“Ah, I told you I don’t like red.”
“If it’s red, it won’t show when blood splashes on it, so that’s good.”
“….”
“Hmm…, that looks great on you, just as I thought! This one next.”
As soon as I changed and came out, I was handed a new outfit and headed back to the fitting room.
For a whopping three hours.
‘It’ll be over by today, right?’
Fortunately, she seemed to like a white shirt, and after a grueling four hours, the shopping finally came to an end.
***
[9th Floor]
[Mission: Kill 1 Rock Golem]
[Time Limit: 1 hour]
The wind swept across the mountainside.
There were only one or two trees.
There were a few flowers and some grass, but everything else was rock.
‘A Rock Golem….’
Among golems, it had especially high defense.
Most swords and arrows couldn’t even pierce it.
It boasted tremendous strength thanks to its massive weight, but it was that much slower.
‘A punching bag in perfect condition.’
There was a reason I had put off clearing the 9th floor.
A Hidden Clear.
Namely, killing the Rock Golem in a single blow.
<Kuoooooh!>
RUMBLE—
The Rock Golem came down over the ridge as if rolling.
Clumps of rock stuck together and fell apart, realigning its body, and with every step, a thunderous vibration spread through the ground.
“Kaedes.”
Dark red light mingled with black iron and bloomed long from my hand.
When I brushed the back of the blade, a low vibration resonated through my entire arm.
An energy like a black film flowed along the edge.
Swsh—
I closed my eyes.
I gathered mana in my heart, then slowly released it outward in time with my heartbeat.
Shaaa—
A ripple spread outward, sweeping over the natural surroundings, and soon reached the golem.
Between the rough grains of rock.
Only one point was smooth.
‘The core’s in the same spot as before.’
Between the left side of the chest, where a breastplate would be, and the shoulder, two and a half hand-spans deep.
The core was pulsing.
“Whew—”
I drew my mana back in and quietly redistributed it inside my body.
I pulled my right foot back and set it firmly at an angle, and brought my left foot half a step forward.
I lowered my knees and set my pelvis at a slight angle.
My right hand on the grip, my left hand near the back of the blade.
After fixing Kaedes close against the side of my waist, I relaxed my fingers as much as possible, letting my waist rather than my arm hold it.
“Sssp—”
I drew in only half a breath and held it.
My heart beating, the monster moving.
Even with my eyes closed, I could feel all of it.
Clack—
I drew mana thinly out to my fingertips and wound it like thread along the spine of the blade.
At the end, the thread formed a loop, and the loop swallowed another loop.
Hmmmmmm—
The tip of the blade trembled faintly, and the air made a crying sound.
And then I thought.
The backs of my comrades.
The hands that patted my back as they laughed.
And the eyes that looked at me after plunging the blade in at the very end.
‘The emotion I’m feeling right now is….’
Many different emotions filled my entire body.
Chewing over those emotions, I slowly opened my eyes.
‘I’ve decided.’
Swsh—
The moment I settled on a single emotion, mana spread throughout my body.
A red energy dyed the black blade even deeper.
It felt like drawing not a blade, but my will.
Tak—
My heels twisted.
My waist rotated powerfully.
My shoulders took over that rotation, and my arms followed after.
My hands stayed light to the very end.
<Kuooooh!!>
Perhaps the golem sensed this energy too, because it began approaching quickly.
But it was just a Rock Golem.
CRUNCH—!
I clenched my teeth.
Pouring my body out, the sword slid from my waist and became a quick-draw in itself.
SHRAAK—
A thin line was drawn along the trajectory the blade had come out on.
That line neither glowed nor wavered.
The wind stopped, and the mountain held its breath.
For a moment, everything sank into silence.
“….”
<Kuo?>
Even the golem didn’t move.
It was as still as if time itself had been cut and trapped in the gap.
Before even a second had passed.
“Spread.”
KABOOOOOOM!!!
The emotion I had held down erupted explosively from the split crack.
<Kuooooooh!>
The thin line tore open and spread out like thorns.
The ground shook, and rocks burst apart.
The golem’s body shattered from the inside out, and dozens of branching cracks collapsed like a huge rocky mountain.
RUMBLE—!!
All the hatred contained within clawed at the world along with the sword strike.
The breathless wind turned into a storm, and dust swallowed the mountainside as it rose.
CRACKLE—!
The core burst.
The force binding the rocks together came undone, and its entire body came crashing down.
Rock fragments tumbled down the slope, and the dust hung in the air for a while.
“Haa—”
I let out the breath I had been holding in a long exhale.
Tremble—
The vibration left in my grip still hadn’t faded.
Kaedes seemed to be beating like a heart, as if connected as one with my pulse.
[You have achieved the Hidden Clear conditions.]
[You have killed the Rock Golem in a single blow.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
“Makes me wonder if I even needed to find the core in the first place.”
The remains were already scattering like sand.
There was no need to even find the core.
Its very existence had been erased.
[You have achieved the conditions.]
[An Original Skill is being created.]
“A skill that loads emotion into mana.”
[Please register a name.]
“Emotium.”
[Seo Kang-yul’s Original Skill ‘Emotium’ has been created.]
[Emotium]
-Grade: Original
-Loads the emotion dwelling in the heart into the blade and cleaves the world in the shape of that emotion. Its nature changes according to the user’s emotions.
-Hatred.
“With this, there’s no need to worry about the 10th fl—”
Rrrip—
Around my forearm, the fabric burst with a rustle.
The shirt Han Ji-won had carefully picked out for me was splitting from the shoulder to the side, tearing like paper.
“Ah….”
As if it hadn’t been able to handle the mana, the cleanly split fabric fluttered in the wind.
‘Come to think of it, I came straight here after the department store….’
A gifted piece of clothing.
I had torn it apart before a single day had even passed.
It wasn’t on purpose.
Really….