Chapter 137: The First Step into the Tower

I asked,  “Then how should I prepare?”

The Statue’s words were unwavering, “Just climb the Tower.”

It was exactly the same line, as if someone had input it beforehand.  

To be honest, I had already expected this answer, so all I could do was sigh.  

Climb the Tower.  

Why should I, a blacksmith, have to do such a thing?  

“Seo Jun, I understand your feelings. It’s far too harsh to ask you, a blacksmith and not a warrior, to climb the Tower alone.”  

“You know me well. I can’t do it. I don’t have a single offensive skill. How am I supposed to climb the Tower?”  

This was truly absurd.  

Should I go beat monsters with a hammer?  

And with a forging hammer, not even a combat one?  

Or am I supposed to enter alone and shoot a crossbow or something?  

‘Ha…’

I couldn’t help but sigh.  

I know I’m probably worrying too much.  

If I could enter the Tower with my assistants, the difficulty could be much easier—I’m well aware of that.  

But the reason I haven’t confirmed that yet is because if I find out I can enter with my assistants, I’d have no choice but to climb the Tower myself.  

“Think carefully. Your assistants, whom we taught personally, are more than capable of climbing the Tower.”  

“Though you are a blacksmith, among all I’ve seen, none are as optimized for Tower climbing as you, Seo Jun.”  

“Your assistants are strong, and their lifeforce isn’t linked to yours like a summoner’s.”  

“Besides, you have the right to ‘exit’ that I gave you. Why not try entering once?”  

“Have you forgotten? You are also blessed and protected by the two of us, the Gatekeepers. Even if you are ambushed right after entering, you will never die!”  

Could it be that the two Statues realized this was the perfect time to sway me?  

They began to persuade me.  

Everything they said was true.  

All of it was true.  

And precisely because it was true, it irritated me even more.  

I’ve been working so hard outside to grow the Vulcanus Guild so I wouldn’t have to climb the Tower myself.  

And now they tell me to climb it?  

Risking my precious life?  

As I kept pondering, the Statue gave me additional information.  

“You don’t necessarily have to clear the entire Tower, Seo Jun.”  

“What? But I thought the Tower only disappears once you climb it all the way?”  

“That is true, but the more you clear, the weaker the Tower becomes.”  

“Then…”  

“The damage caused by the Tower appearing in your reality, as foretold by the White Feather Immortal’s Prophecy, will also be significantly reduced.”  

That was quite tempting information.  

Noticing my interest, the Statue hurriedly continued, “Seo Jun, didn’t you say you’re training strong subordinates outside?”  

“They’re not subordinates; they’re guild members.”  

“Either way, if you climb the Tower and weaken it, you can sufficiently hold back the flood of monsters that come out when the Tower rises.”  

“And after that? You still said that if you don’t climb the Tower, destruction is inevitable.”  

“It’s the same then! If you weaken the Tower, your subordinates will be able to climb it more comfortably and quickly!”  

“Really?”  

“Of course!”  

“Don’t feel pressured!”  

“You can do it, Seo Jun!”  

I don’t have to climb the entire Tower.  

Just enough.  

Just a safe amount.  

If I climb just that far, I can weaken the Tower.  

If that much is done, then with the combined strength of the Sword Saint, Berserker, and Shadow King, conquering the Tower should be easy.  

Yeah.  

That’s acceptable.  

Just to a safe limit.  

Besides, I have the Gatekeeper’s Blessing and Gatekeeper’s Protection from the two Statues.  

I’ll climb just enough to hold back the flood of monsters when the Tower appears in reality.  

And if even the slightest danger arises, I’ll stop immediately.  

“Alright. I’ll enter for now.”  

“Oh! Finally made up your mind, have you? Our Challenger! Seo Jun!”  

“If it’s dangerous, I’ll stop right away. I’ll enter the first floor and then decide.”  

“Good, good! They say well begun is half done!”  

“The first step is the most important! We will cheer you on!”  

“To prepare for the Tower entrance, we’ll train your disciples even more strictly!”  

The two Statues were so excited they were practically bouncing.  

The ground trembled beneath their feet.  

The real Tower climb was about to begin.  

No, before that.  

Before increasing the Combat Team in preparation for the climb.  

There was one thing to do first.  

“First, I need to confirm if I can enter with my assistants or not.”  

Can I bring my assistants into the Tower with me?  

If not, then everything I’ve been thinking up to now is just wishful thinking.  

“Good idea! With our blessings, no matter what happens, you won’t be taken down in one fell swoop.”  

“Reconnaissance is important!”  

“You have the right to exit I gave you. Just check that and come straight back out.”  

“Understood.”  

I would enter the Tower with my assistants.  

I planned to confirm this first and then prepare for what comes next.  

“Everyone, ready?”  

“Of course.”  

The assistants I would bring were naturally the four members of the Combat Team here.  

Since I only planned to check if assistants could accompany me and then leave, there was no need to call the Mining Team or Production Team.  

Just in case, I quickly finished my own preparations.  

“As the Gatekeeper of the Tower, we will open the door ourselves.”  

“Heh, a line I haven’t used in a while.”  

“Challenger of the Tower.”  

“Challenger of the Tower.”  

The Statue of the Swordsmith and the Statue of the Spearsmith stood on either side of the firmly closed stone door, gripping the handles.  

Then, wiping away all trace of the smiles they had just shown, they wore serious expressions.  

“Climb the Tower and restore the dawn of the world.”  

They began to open the Tower’s door.  

***

There was no need to walk through the wide-open door.  

The moment the door opened and bright light surrounded me, my body was already transported inside the Tower.  

“This is the Tower?”  

The inside of the Tower was similar to what I had imagined.  

Stone floors, walls, and ceilings.  

Faded and cracked from age, with dust falling, but the Tower’s unique dignity remained intact.  

I didn’t know how many floors the Tower had, but judging from the size of the first floor alone, it was enormous.  

The Tower reaching the sky, as I saw in the future through the White Feather Immortal’s Prophecy, was no exaggeration.  

Even the first floor was tall and wide enough for birds to fly around inside.  

And thankfully—  

“Clack.”

“Master, my duty is to protect you.”  

‘Phew!’

My four assistants.  

The Combat Team took battle formation in front of me.  

I worried whether my assistants could enter with me, but thankfully, they could.  

Since I confirmed this, I was about to use the ‘exit’ right given by the Statue to leave the Tower when—  

[Welcome to the Tower.]  

[The trial of the 1st floor begins.]  

[1st floor: Slime Division.]  

A system message appeared before my eyes.  

It looked like the trial started immediately upon entering the first floor.  

But—  

“Slimes?”  

Slimes.  

What were slimes?  

Among monsters, they were the weakest, bottom-tier creatures.  

Rarely did only slimes appear even in rank 2 gates; they were usually mixed with other monsters because of their weakness.  

There were rare powerful variant slimes with special properties, but this was not the norm.  

Slimes as the trial for the first floor?  

“Huh. The Tower might be easier than I thought.”  

That thought even crossed my mind.  

Because the appearance of slimes meant that the Tower likely kept a certain balance and released monsters in order.  

If the first floor was rank 2 difficulty, and the top was rank 10, then at least the middle levels were manageable.  

Maybe even up to rank 7 difficulty, I could handle it alone.  

Confidence rose within me.  

“Maybe I’ll just clear the first floor and then leave.”  

Confidence turned quickly into action.  

I could handle slimes alone.  

Honestly, even without my assistants, I could probably clear slimes with my hammer.  

After all, I was still a level 227 Hunter despite being a blacksmith.  

Even just basic stats meant I could one-shot a slime.  

The mere touch of my hammer might shatter a slime’s body.  

“Let’s do this!”  

Fueled by confidence, soon something started to emerge from the far side of the first floor.  

Something slithering up from cracks in the stone floor.  

I was certain of its identity.  

“Slimes!”  

Slimes.  

That size was definitely manageable.  

Even my four assistants stepped back to let me take the front against the slimes.  

“Huh?”  

Strange.  

The slimes kept coming, without stopping.  

The slimes I remembered were no bigger than a basketball, barely reaching my knees.  

But the slimes I saw now—  

“W-what?”  

Their size far exceeded what I knew.  

At first, about the size of a small compact car.  

No, they kept growing and grew to the size of a one-ton truck.  

One-hit with a hammer?  

No.  

Correction.  

These were monsters that a mere blacksmith like me could not handle.  

Moreover, the huge slime’s body roared with a hissing sound of air escaping as it began spawning new slimes.  

“Gurrrrrrrrk—”  

Only then did I realize the name of this trial.  

‘Slime Division.’  

Just as the name suggested.  

That giant slime was dividing, creating smaller slimes.  

And the main slime’s size did not shrink even as it split.  

The spawned slimes were also not the basketball-sized ones I knew but large enough to reach my knees.  

“Ugh, attack!”  

“Understood.”  

I gave up stepping forward myself.  

I left the attack to the Combat Team.  

Although they seemed a bit large, they were still slimes after all.  

The Combat Team might be able to shatter them with a mere swipe of their swords.  

However, the slimes did not burst.

“Slash—”  

Instead, they clung to Combat 1’s sword and interfered with the next attack.  

Fortunately, when Combat 1 released sword energy, all the slimes were knocked off.  

“Gurrrrrrrrk—” 

There were just too many slimes.  

Combat 4 was preparing magic, so it seemed we might manage somehow.  

“Is this really the difficulty of the first floor?”  

My hopeful expectation that I could easily clear the first floor just because the monsters were slimes was already shattered.  

The Combat Team seemed to be getting used to hunting slimes, so we might still clear the first floor somehow.  

But I shook my head.  

If it was going to be this tough right from the start, it would be better to leave, prepare properly, and return later.  

It would be troublesome if the Combat Team got hurt by pushing too hard.  

[Using exit authority.]  

[Exiting the Tower.]  

When I used the exit authority, the firmly closed stone door behind me opened.  

“Let’s call it a day!”  

I muttered a line worthy of a villain and left the Tower to replenish my forces.