Chapter 68 : The Return of the Black Tower

“The Black Tower has reappeared in Dimension 10,459.”

The Black Tower suddenly appeared in Dimension 10,459.

Silpia wore a grave expression.

“Just when it seemed peace had returned after the fallen beasts were eradicated, a new crisis had arisen.
The Black Tower is like a ticking time bomb. If it doesn’t continuously manifest, the gate collapses, and monsters pour out.”

“Wha—?”

Dohyun and Seo Rin’s eyes widened at Silpia’s words.

Well, it was a natural reaction for those hearing about it for the first time.

However, there was no time for detailed explanations now.

A little delay here would mean a matter of days in that dimension.

Explanations would have to wait—hurrying, they set off toward Dimension 10,459.

“I’ll go ahead first. I’ll explain everything in detail later.”

Leaving Dohyun and Seo Rin with a vague excuse, Silpia quickly used the Departure Stone.

At that moment, Seolhwa, who was waiting for me in the plains, also joined us.

I was just thinking about leaving a message, so this was convenient.

When it came to tower climbing, Seolha knew far more than I did.

Using the Departure Stone, we moved to Dimension 10,459.

The green forest I had returned to after just a few days was clearly different.

Rising high was the Black Tower.

No matter where you were in the world, if you looked up, you could see that ominous tower.

As soon as we arrived, the Rusol Sisters rushed over.

Though they seemed unsettled by the sudden situation, and we hadn’t even properly greeted each other before parting, they welcomed us warmly.

Then Eillin, the temporary queen, approached.

“Your Majesty!”

Eillin, Silpia’s handler, beamed brightly.

Though only a few days had passed in her original dimension, it had been several months in Dimension 10,459, so her warm greeting was understandable.

Of course, being both professional and practical, she prioritized explaining the current situation over pleasantries.

“Your Majesty, the Black Tower has appeared.”

The Black Tower, which vanished 5,000 years ago after humanity’s downfall, had suddenly reemerged.

And without warning.

No one knew why.

Could it be connected to the disappearance of the fallen beasts?

One thing was certain.

Now that the Black Tower had appeared, we had to climb it.

Originally, only players who had awakened their abilities could climb.

Was it the same here?

Hoping for a chance, I called out the tower entry command.

“Tower Entry!”

As always, a blue glow enveloped my entire body.

And then—

[You have entered Floor 1 of the Tower.]

Mission: Defeat 20 Slimes.

Time limit: 12 hours.

A tower.

And a completely new one at that.

All the floors we had previously climbed were reset.

What did that mean?

Was the reward doubled?

Shall we try?

Just like when I first met Bbyak, spreading his wings wide, Bbyak swept up the slimes.

Then—

[Announcement] You are the world’s first to clear Floor 1 of the Black Tower at SSS Rank.

[Reward] Golden Ticket acquired.

[Reward] 2 kg of Magic Ore.

[Reward] 2 mediocre Health Recovery Potions.

The rewards appeared.

Exactly the same as when I first received them.

But it didn’t end there.

Currently, I had 34 Golden Tickets.

Climbing the tower now would bring me to 35.

That meant a special bonus was coming!

[Announcement] The 35 Golden Tickets special bonus is being granted.

Rewards doubled.

Plus, the time difference between the two dimensions is 24 times.

If I cleared a floor, then returned to my original dimension and waited just one hour,

I could climb again.

Was this the so-called reward duplication?

[Reward] Rune of Skill Enhancement acquired.

After entering the tower, reward duplication.

I felt like I was drowning in honey and might get a toothache!

***

It had been a long time since I last received a Rune of Skill Enhancement, found by Choco on the ground.

It still looked delicious just by looking at it.

I had to use it immediately.

Wearing it without use was pointless.

Items like this needed to be used right away to maximize benefits.

Grasping the smooth rune, I used it without hesitation.

Messages immediately flooded my vision.

[You have used the Rune of Skill Enhancement.]

[The Love of Beasts has been strengthened.]

[Love of Beasts] Grants the absolute love of all beasts. The favor of newly encountered beasts increases drastically.

[The Attraction of Beasts has been strengthened.]

[Attraction of Beasts] Greatly increases the chance for the player to befriend higher-rank beasts. Newly encountered beasts will never attack first.

[Head Stroking has been strengthened.]

[Head Stroking] Beasts love it very, very much.

[The Blessing of Beasts has been strengthened.]

[Blessing of Beasts] Beasts that have grown to the highest rank grant blessings to the player. Their growth to the highest rank becomes dramatically faster.

Ka—

This was only the second time, but it felt new.

Look at how much the skills improved.

Honestly, reading the description alone didn’t clarify exactly what had changed, but that didn’t matter.

At least nothing had gotten worse.

I was satisfied.

The only obvious changes seemed to be in the Love and Attraction of Beasts.

There would be no more unprovoked attacks like with the Megalodon last time.

Basic safety for beasts was now guaranteed!

After using the Rune of Skill Enhancement, when I came outside, it seemed everyone had been waiting eagerly.

They must have had a ton of questions.

Before that, I told Seolha about the new tower.

“Seolha, you should enter quickly. You’ll probably have to start climbing from Floor 1 again.”

“Ah, okay.”

Seolha nodded at my words.

If a player like Seolha, who normally climbed the 50th floor, had to start over at Floor 1—

That would totally mess up the balance.

Floor 1 was definitely SSS Rank.

And sure enough.

[Announcement] Floor 1 of the Black Tower has been cleared at SSS Rank.

Not long after entering, the system notification echoed.

As expected, SSS Rank.

So that’s how the message appears.

I had only ever seen the system issue notices; this was the first time I saw someone else get one.

Seolha soon revealed her expression.

She looked like a typical studious face.

I had just received SSS Rank for the first time, so I fully understood how Seolha must have felt.

I wondered what rewards other SSS Rank players had gotten.

“What did you get as a reward?”

“Uh, a Silver Ticket.”

Unlike me, Seolha’s reward was a Silver Ticket.

Not all 555 Rank rewards were the same, apparently.

Probably because she was the second to clear.

Then the third would get Bronze?

“Tickets grant special bonuses every 5 collected.”

“Huh?”

“I have Golden Tickets.”

Seolha gave a small, envious sigh at my words.

Well, being the world’s first SSS Rank player, Silver Tickets didn’t quite suit her.

Golden was definitely better.

“Then, if Woo-min climbs first, I’ll follow after.”

Seolha smiled brightly after a moment of thought.

Though she could probably easily achieve SSS Rank on the lower floors herself, she readily gave way.

Of course, Seolha didn’t consider it a concession.

After all, she was only here thanks to Woo-min.

If it weren’t for Woo-min, she wouldn’t even have gotten a Silver Ticket.

Naturally, Woo-min should climb first, and she’d follow.

She didn’t want to be greedy when she’d already received so much help.

If it meant getting closer to Woo-min, she was willing to yield even the Silver Ticket.

“Are you really okay with that?”

“Of course. As long as Woo-min is fine with it, I’ll yield the Silver Ticket, too.”

I waved my hand to stop her.

Ah, Golden was more than enough.

The more items, the better.

But if you got too greedy, it could backfire.

Good things should be shared.

More importantly, it was now confirmed that existing players could climb the tower in Dimension 10,459.

What about the other elves?

I looked cautiously at Silpia.

“Is it possible?”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“Just say ‘Tower Floor 1 Entry’.”

The concept of “players” still didn’t exist in the elf world.

In other words, no elves had awakened abilities.

Then, what about the elves who originally lived here?

Silpia slowly nodded, then said seriously,

“Tower Floor 1 Entry.”

But, unlike what we hoped, nothing happened.

“Nothing’s happening.”

“Right.”

“I’m s-sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s supposed to be this way.”

No need to apologize.

Silpia looked dejected for no fault of her own.

Could it be because we had crossed over into our dimension?

At that moment, Eillin and I exchanged glances.

***

“Maybe it’s because Silpia hasn’t stayed in this dimension continuously.”

Flustered, Eillin looked around nervously.

When all eyes were on her, the usually composed Eillin bowed deeply.

Though she was usually sharp-tongued, this situation was unlike anything she’d faced before.

Her ears even turned red as she whispered,

“Tower Floor 1 Entry.”

But like Silpia, nothing happened.

Only Eillin’s embarrassed voice echoed into the void.

“Hmm, it seems you must have awakened abilities to enter.”

Well, if anyone could enter freely, it wouldn’t be the coveted job of climbing the tower.

Only about 0.01% of people worldwide had been chosen to qualify for climbing.

The tower had only appeared for one day.

We’d wait a little longer.

But before that, I had to explain about the Black Tower.

Though Seolha and I’s climbing schedule was pushed back and the gate might collapse, we couldn’t just ignore it.

Monsters could pour out from the gate at any moment, but the tower itself had helped humanity in many ways.

Especially with Magic Ore and items.

It was like the world was divided into before and after humans discovered fire; now it was before and after the tower appeared.

The byproducts from the tower held infinite potential.

The elves were no different.

Magic Ore might not be useful to them, but various items would certainly be helpful wherever they went.

So, except for the elves guarding the village, I gathered everyone to sit down and started explaining step by step.

From the tower’s history to safety rules and precautions.

As expected of the world’s number one ranked player, Seolha explained everything in a way everyone could understand.

“Questions?”

At that moment, Ru, who was listening attentively in the front, raised her hand quickly.

“Yes, please ask.”

“How many floors does the tower have?”

That was information not yet revealed in the opposite dimension.

People only guessed it might be 100 floors.

“There’s no confirmed number yet. We only guess there are 100 floors.”

Ru nodded at the answer and raised her hand again.

“How do you awaken abilities?”

That question also had no definite answer.

All I could say was that you had to be lucky.

But I couldn’t say that plainly, so Seolha spoke carefully.

“It’s very rare to be chosen by the tower to awaken abilities. It’s believed that the abilities are determined by one’s nature.”

Kind of like MB.

Abilities awaken based on one’s personality, preferences, and what suits them best.

At that moment, Ru, who had been listening most intently, began to glow brightly.

Then—

Pop—

A blue screen appeared before Ru’s eyes.

“Oh?”

She had awakened an ability!

Ru was the first to awaken an ability in Dimension 10,459.

More importantly—what was the ability?