Chapter 143: The Tower Trembles Awake

I slept soundly until I felt fully refreshed.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I ordered delivery to fill my stomach.

With the extra fried chicken I ordered, I went down to Zone 5 and handed it over to the two Statues who had watched over the Combat Team, as a token of gratitude.

“Gather up!”

I called the scattered Combat Team to assemble.

Their number was nineteen in total.

Since I was already used to Numbers 1 through 4, I decided to go over them in order starting from Number 5.

“Combat 5!”

A burly figure wielding a massive shield in both hands instead of a weapon, Combat 5.

“Combat 6!”

Combat 6, created based on a swordsman, but wielding a blade instead of a sword.

“Combat 7!”

Combat 7, based on a berserker, wielding a greatsword.

“Combat 8!”

Though also based on a berserker, Combat 8 wields not a greatsword, but a gigantic battle axe (Battle axe).

“Combat 9!”

Based on the Shadow King, Combat 9 is in the form of an assassin using daggers.

“Combat 10 and 11!”

Combat 10 and 11, in the form of cavalry.

“Combat 12!”

Combat 12, created based on Team Leader 1 Park Sang-hyun, and shaped to look even more like a werewolf than Park Sang-hyun himself.

In that way, I continued calling the names of my assistants: Combat 13, 14, and so on.

As my assistants stepped forward when called, the last turn soon arrived.

“Combat 19!”

“Yes, Master.”

Combat 19, created based on Team 9 Leader Jeon Ji-min, wielding a whip.

The nineteen members of the Combat Team lined up before me.

Not even reaching twenty, yet they looked remarkably many.

Moreover, each of them was equipped with a complete set of proper equipment, giving off an intimidating aura that was anything but ordinary.

‘Heh heh!’

Just looking at them fills me with such reassurance and satisfaction.

So much time was poured into creating them.

Even though they’re not Legendary grade, I wanted to make them as good as possible, so I spared no expense buying top-quality materials at the auction house and investing them here, which makes me even prouder.

Just the amount of money poured into the Combat Team could probably buy several buildings in Gangnam.

No, not just houses—maybe even entire apartment complexes.

“Are you all ready?”

“Yes, Master.”

“I have taught all of you up to Number 19 the basic formations.”

“They might not be as good as our direct disciples, but the rest will learn on the field.”

“Their ability to learn and their intelligence is so exceptional, it’s hard to believe they’re not living beings. I’m sure they’ll have no problem clearing the first floor!”

The two Statues also folded their arms and nodded, satisfied with the Combat Team I had made.

That much confidence must mean they believe in them, too.

Anyway, preparations were complete.

“Let’s go in!”

“We’ll open the gate for you!”

“Enter now! Seo Jun! Challenger!”

As the massive stone doors of the Tower opened, the entrance was revealed.

The nineteen members of the Combat Team, plus myself.

Exactly twenty of us entered the Tower.

The Tower’s interior was exactly as before.

A vast space, big enough for my beloved Combat 10 and 11 to run around freely.

Cracks here and there, and falling bits of stone dust.

Wait, are there even more cracks than before?

Nah, that can’t be.

It must be my imagination.

After all, it hasn’t been long since I left and came back.

[Welcome to the Tower.]

[The trial of the first floor begins.]

[First Floor: Slime Division]

Before long, the familiar system messages appeared.

At the same time, slimes started rising from the far end.

Last time, I’d underestimated them and just stood there blankly watching until all the slimes had crawled up, but not this time.

“Attack!”

“Yes, Master.”

“Ta-dat!”

As soon as the system message popped up and the trial began, I gave the order to attack.

From Number 5 onwards, it would be their first time in a situation like this, but without hesitation, all of them charged toward the slimes.

Did the slimes get flustered at this sudden attack?

“Grrrrrr-.”

With the sound of dripping water, the rapidly rising slimes began to divide.

Far more urgently and quickly than before.

They seemed unwilling to just stand by and be attacked, so in that short time, the slimes were dividing at incredible speed.

“Hiiiiiyah!”

Combat 10 and 11.

The speed of the cavalry surpassed even the speed at which the slimes divided.

“Thunk!”

The cavalry’s lance pierced straight through the slime.

And that wasn’t the end.

Through the hole made by the lance, Combat 11 shoved its head straight through, forcibly breaking through.

As a result, the slime’s body ended up with a hole as big as the combined size of Combat 10 and 11.

Beneath Combat 11’s hooves lay the crushed core of the slime.

“Grrrrrrr-.”

With that, all the slimes that had just divided and were about to move crumbled and collapsed.

Those who had been dashing in after the slimes to attack slowed down awkwardly.

I’d expected the combination of Combat 10 and 11 to be fast and strong, but not to this degree.

To fell the slime with a single blow, even before it had finished dividing.

Is this for real?

I worried for a moment—could it be that this is just the beginning, and more such slimes will appear?

[Your level has increased.]

[You have overcome the First Floor Trial: ‘Slime Division’.]

[Clear Rating: SSS]

[Reward: ‘King Slime’s Mucilage’ will be granted.]

[The first floor has been cleared, and the Tower is weakened.]

A system message appeared to announce the end of the trial.

It really was over.

With just one cavalry charge.

When I came in last time, I thought the first floor was pretty tough.

But to finish such a trial this easily.

“So there’s a clear rating, too?”

It seems the reward is determined by the rating you get.

That means this King Slime’s Mucilage is an SSS-grade reward.

I wondered how good a slime material could really be, but when I checked the item information—

[King Slime’s Mucilage]

Type: Material

Grade: S

Description: The mucilage obtained from the body of the King Slime, which constantly divides to cover the entire world in slimes.

“Huh?”

It’s actually S-grade material.

But what surprised me wasn’t just that the slime material was high grade.

The point is, I just cleared the first floor of the Tower.

In other words, if I climb a little higher—

The rewards could be SS-grade materials.

No, maybe even SSS-grade materials.

“My word.”

I recalled what the two Statues had said before.

When I’d marveled at Cheonjeoseok, an SS-Class Material I’d never seen before, the Statues told me that once inside the Tower, I could obtain SS-Class Material like Cheonjeoseok.

That turned out to be true.

If I climb a bit higher, I’ll be able to acquire SS-Class Material.

And with a little more, maybe even SSS-Grade Items.

“SSS-Grade Material……”

Right now, I’m using SS-Class Material to craft Legendary Grade items.

So, what if I use SSS-Grade Material?

Would I simply get another Legendary item?

Or is there a rank above Legendary?

Honestly, I don’t think there is a higher rank.

But even so—

“At the very least, wouldn’t it make ‘Myth Creation’ much easier to use?”

The success rate of Myth Creation increases depending on the materials used.

With SSS-Grade Material, I might be able to replicate something even more powerful than Baekwoo Seon, perhaps even legendary or mythical items.

Like Excalibur, which I first tried to make.

No, maybe I could even create a god-tier weapon like Poseidon’s Trident.

Thinking like that, I felt fired up to conquer the Tower.

“Shall we go up to the next floor right away?”

The moment I defeated King Slime and the system message appeared, a staircase formed.

Eager to see what material I’d get on the second floor, I climbed those stairs.

Of course, Combat 5, with the massive shield, took the lead.

And I, at the very back, followed my assistants up the stairs, quietly and safely.

***

The Gatekeepers of the Tower.

Just as there are the Statue of the Swordsmith and the Statue of the Spearsmith, so too are there ‘Managers’ who maintain the Tower.

If the Tower were to collapse, it would mean not just the end of the world where the Tower arose, but also the destruction of every dimension connected to the Tower.

To prevent such destruction, Managers exist within the Tower.

“Haaam……”

One of them was this man.

‘Riohr,’ yawning before a bank of monitors.

Lately, though, Riohr had been in a slumber as deep as hibernation.

The reason was simple.

There was nothing for him to do.

In the past, countless heroes climbed the Tower to prevent destruction.

But nowadays, heroes? 

Nonsense.

It’s been centuries since even a single ant stepped foot into the Tower.

No, maybe even longer than that.

“Fuaahm.”

The Tower was growing old and rusty, cracks spreading toward ruin, but there was nothing Riohr could do.

From the beginning, the Tower can’t be repaired or maintained.

There’s only one way to erase the Tower: for someone to climb it.

Riohr’s role was to oversee this ‘climbing’ and address any problems with the Tower.

But since no one was climbing, Riohr tried to soothe his boredom by falling into a long hibernation.

It seemed he’d remain asleep until the Tower finally collapsed.

But then, in the silent Manager’s room—

[The first floor trial ‘Slime Division’ has been cleared.]

[Clear Rating: SSS]

[The first floor has been cleared, and the Tower is weakened.]

“Waugh?”

Awoken suddenly by the messages and alert sounds, Riohr, who had been dozing in his chair, sprang awake in surprise.

Maybe because it had been so long since he’d last awakened, his limbs flailed and he ended up falling right out of his chair.

Still half-asleep and dazed, he rose from the floor, and new messages flashed before his eyes.

“Huh?”

“The first floor trial was cleared? Doesn’t that mean someone had entered the Tower?”

“Uwahhh!”

Startled, Riohr frantically scanned the monitors.

Sure enough.

Records showed that someone had already entered the Tower twice while he slept.

The first time, they had left almost immediately, probably just checking the situation.

But today, it looked like they’d entered in earnest to clear the first floor.

“How does someone have this much blessing? This was no ordinary challenger.”

They were fully covered in the Gatekeeper’s Blessing and Gatekeeper’s Protection, from the notoriously strict Swordsmith Statue and Spearsmith Statue.

Not only that, but they also had some of the Tower’s authority that those two Statues held: the power to ‘enter’ and ‘exit.’

Just that was enough to see it.

The two Gatekeepers had pinned their final hopes on this challenger.

But then—

“What is this? A summoner? Tamer? Necromancer?”

On the monitor, the climber wasn’t alone.

Nineteen soldiers lined up behind the climber.

Each was heavily armed and armored with different weapons, like living armor made entirely of gear.

Curious, he checked the challenger’s information.

“A blacksmith? And the level is, what, only 231?”

A blacksmith.

And not even that high of a level.

Previous climbers had all been heroes with average levels in the 300s.

Now, a level 231 blacksmith is climbing the Tower.

And under the Gatekeeper’s Blessing, too.

There was even a message about leveling up, so the actual level on entry would have been 230.

It seems there really are no people left. 

For those picky Statues to place their final hopes on a blacksmith like that…

If the two Statues had been searching for a hero to climb the Tower to the very end—

Riohr was the opposite.

He had given up.

Whether the Tower grew old and cracked, or no challenger ever came.

Countless heroes had failed to conquer the Tower.

Countless worlds had fallen because of the Tower.

Clearing this Tower was impossible.

He’d decided that, and paid no mind even if no challenger came.

But now, the final challenger is a blacksmith.

Imagining the two Gatekeepers betting everything on that blacksmith made Riohr feel a pang of pity.

Then, something unbelievable caught Riohr’s eye.

[Jeong Seo Jun] Challenger

[Entry Time 00:02:55]

“Huh?”

Entry time.

The time elapsed since the challenger entered.

But it was only a little over two minutes.

Which means—

“He cleared the first floor trial in just two minutes?”

That’s what it meant.

First floor trial: Slime Division.

Sure, it’s just slimes, but even so—King Slime, which could cover an entire world in slimes and destroy it, is the boss monster of this trial.

It’s a trial that’s tripped up more than one hero who underestimated it.

Above all, because the slimes endlessly divide so rapidly, the first floor trial usually takes longer to clear than any other.

But he cleared it in two minutes.

No, given that he’s already attempting the second floor, if you subtract travel time, he cleared the first floor in less than a minute.

“What is this monster…?”

The pessimist Riohr.

He, who had lost interest in everything as destruction approached.

Now found himself deeply interested in Jeong Seo Jun’s climb.