Episode 2
The Tower-climbing gallers—or to be precise, the old-timers of the Tower-climbing Gallery—had seen several Earthlings by now.
They were gallers who had been stranded in the Tower for hundreds, even up to a thousand years. They had seen many newbies, and those newbies had similarly become casualties or died. There were even some castaways who had taken their own lives.
Anyway.
None of the Earthlings they had seen could kill even a single goblin. Of course, that Earthling probably wasn't from the same planet as I Suho. They must be from a parallel universe.
But even so….
- Earthlings don't have mana or internal energy, right?
- …Right. So how is this possible?
- Did he just kill a goblin?
(Cheonsalseong): Hoooh…!
(Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo): …He's got the makings of a boxer? What lousy luck. Hope all you talent-freak bastards drop dead.
(Cheonsalseong): It's been ages since a talented newbie arrived, and you're jealous again. Do you still not know that you must abandon that inferiority complex to grow?
(Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo): Is that why you're stuck on the 89th floor? Lol. You pathetic bastard, if you had just climbed one more floor, you could've saved me.
(Cheonsalseong): This one believes it is the will of Heaven that I did not meet you. You crazy bastard, if I met you, I'd die, really.
The Transcendents stranded on their respective floors were simply astonished by I Suho's overflowing talent.
At that moment, I Suho was not looking at the chat window but staring intently at the goblins. Perhaps because he had killed one, the remaining goblins could not rashly charge at him.
I Suho picked up a dagger. It was the dagger dropped by the goblin that had just died.
'I have plenty of room to escape.'
The dungeon was vast.
It reeked of mold and blood, and the floor was muddy.
Memories he had tried hard to forget surfaced.
The house where I Suho had lived as a child, which had smelled even worse than the dungeon, came into view. His parents shouting at each other, and then one of them picking up a knife.
'…Get a hold of yourself.'
I Suho slapped his own cheek.
- …What's that bastard doing?
- Is he crazy?
- …Not bad? He's an interesting one.
(Cheonsalseong): He has eyes suited for learning demonic martial arts. If he kills these goblins and awakens to the method of using mana… I may teach him my martial arts.
It was then.
Two goblins charged while swinging their swords. Making use of their specialty—speed.
Swish-!!
Goblins that appeared before his eyes and then vanished.
They were rushing toward I Suho's thigh.
I Suho gripped the sword in reverse and stabbed it straight down toward his own thigh.
The goblins' speed was too fast to read their movements.
Thus, he had no choice but to make a gamble.
Stab-!!
Luckily, it worked.
The head of the goblin rushing toward I Suho's leg was pierced.
He didn't stop there. He swung his arm toward the goblin coming from his blind spot. With a screech-!, flesh tore and blood dripped.
- …He wasn't lucky this time.
- Right, he killed one goblin, but his arm is torn too.
- Catching two more goblins with one arm is impossible.
- …What a shame. If only a kid like that understood how to use mana, and learned the strategies from us, he could've saved one of us.
- …He won't get far. He worked hard.
- It was a newbie I hadn't seen in a while. What a shame.
(Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo): No matter how talented he is, catching two goblins without mana and with one arm is impossible. See, if he had that kind of talent, he should've worked hard. What a shame. I wish that talent had gone to me.
(Cheonsalseong): I thought you'd look out for him since you're both boxers, but you're jealous again. You truly are nothing but a crazy bastard.
I Suho looked at the chat window.
…He should've worked hard?
"Hey, Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo. You're watching me, right?"
(Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo): ?
"What if I catch all the goblins?"
(Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo): Impossible. No matter how talented you are, that's impossible.
"So I'm asking, what if I do."
(Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo): I shall adore you.
I Suho nodded.
Perhaps because he had rarely been adored by anyone, those words were enough. With those words, he could throw a life-or-death gamble.
He nodded and simultaneously threw the dagger.
One goblin ducked its head to avoid the dagger.
I Suho didn't miss that opening. He pushed off the ground with his back foot and rapidly closed the distance, rotating his waist excessively for an uppercut.
Boom-!!
Now only one goblin remained.
He squeezed out every last ounce of strength to hammer the goblin with his fist. In the process, his right arm nearly fell off, but even so, he succeeded in subjugating five goblins barehanded.
- …Is this for real?
- No fucking way this is possible?
- …I Suho, is he a god?
- I Suho, he is a god!
- He caught five goblins without mana?
- …If he clears quests in the Tower and gets some skills, he'll really become a monster.
- Can I really finally escape? Suho! I'm stranded on the 30th floor. You can make it here, right?
[Tutorial cleared!]
[All health restored!]
[You have acquired the qualification to enter the 1st floor of the Tower!]
[Climber's privileges granted!]
[Mana circuits being generated!]
His broken arm regenerated. I Suho accepted the situation calmly.
At that moment.
Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo was staring intently at I Suho's face from the Room of Time on the Tower's 90th floor.
'….'
Was that an area achievable by talent alone?
No.
He was someone who had grown up swinging his fists and building strength in his own dimension despite being less talented than anyone. He was someone who had risen to the 90th floor of the Tower through relentless effort.
Because he was someone who envied talent more than anyone and held his own effort in high regard, he could tell.
That was not the realm of talent.
…His favorability toward I Suho had risen.
(Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo): Our Suho, shall we hear Our Suho's story?
#
'…Why is that bastard acting all friendly again.'
I made a puzzled expression looking at Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo. Perhaps he sensed that expression.
(Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo): Hmm, Our Suho finds me uncomfortable right now. It's because my personality is fucked up, so understand.
(Cheonsalseong): …You've finally come to your senses.
(Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo): Shut up, you pathetic bastard.
(Cheonsalseong): This crazy bastard only curses at me. It seems our newbie has plenty of talent, though.
(Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo): Because I said I'd adore him if he proved it. And… that's not talent. It's effort.
He seems to have an eye for these things.
- …But that definitely looks like talent.
- Can that be made through effort?
(Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo): It can be made, you moronic bastards. Anyway, this is the problem with you talent freaks. You think the world you see is the only world. You don't know how to look down, which is why you're stranded on the 89th floor like someone I know.
(Cheonsalseong): …Fucking crazy bastard.
(Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo): What I'm curious about is this. How does an Earthling without mana, internal energy, war, or fighting manage that kind of effort? I mean I'm curious about your life.
"…It's nothing special. It's a common story, so there's not much to tell."
- Still curious. Tell us.
I didn't want to talk about it right now. Because whenever I talked about the past, there were always people who looked at me with sympathetic eyes.
I didn't want to buy sympathy votes even from the people in this gallery.
Well, maybe I could talk about it lightly later when we're closer.
"I'll tell you later."
I changed the subject.
"Anyway, I heard floors 1 to 5 are a fantasy-themed world? Can't you tell me how to get to the 6th floor first?"
(Sineun Wae Nareul Nahgo): …Be careful of Ian.
(Cheonsalseong): I want to tell you the strategy too, but the story from floors 1 to 5 is quite fun. Many people feel the joy of Tower climbing in this theme.
- Right. We'll only tell you what to do when it's dangerous and how to allocate your skill tree, so try it alone first. And be careful of Ian.
That was the end of it.
I moved to a new world, and the broadcast ended.
"…."
It wasn't a gloomy dungeon.
Bright sunlight dazzled my eyes.
A floral scent wafted around, and looking around, it was filled with beautiful flowers.
It was a peaceful garden.
…Should I say I could feel the beauty of nature anew? The green leaves and flowers of all colors put my heart at peace.
[Floor 1 Quest has arrived!]
[Floor 1 Quest - Survival]
- Objective: Survive for 5 minutes from various dangers.
It was then.
"Kyahaha-, kyahaha-!"
Laughter echoed.
A pretty girl was approaching me, laughing.
…Like a crazy bitch.
Yeah, she had flowers in her hair. Meaning she really was a crazy bitch.
"It's Oppa. Oppa…."
[Title: Newbie, Newbie! Newbie!! Look quickly, quickly!]
[Author: ㅇㅇ(115.11)]
- Is the flower-crazy bitch approaching you? Run. Run right now. Don't talk to her, don't answer her. You can't just recklessly run away either. Don't show your back. Slowly back away. She's someone called Ian, no, fucking just run!! I'll explain later. At least a hundred newbies have died to her.
[Title: Please don't talk to Ian…]
[Author: ㅇㅇ(111.123)]
- If you talk to Ian, she suddenly pulls out a knife. That girl is crazy. You might survive if you're a 5th-circle magician, but if not, don't talk to her. Even the Cheonma using the nickname Cheonsalseong here couldn't kill Ian. You get it?
…By the time I saw this post, it was too late.
"Hello?"
I had ended up talking to Ian.
"Hehe, Oppa! Oppa's handsome."
But… she isn't pulling out a knife?