The Tower’s caretaker, Riohr.
Though he was the caretaker, he’d considered conquering the Tower impossible and had fallen into a deep hibernation.
But now, he was—
“Wahaha! Nice! Go! Smash them all to pieces!”
He was shaking a cheering stick enthusiastically as he stared at the monitor for the Second Floor.
Why was Riohr, who had given up on managing the Tower and become a doomsayer, waving a cheering stick like this?
And just where had he even gotten that cheering stick from?
He wasn’t sure, but on the monitor for the Second Floor—
– Kieeek!
Trial of the Third Floor, Wild Kobold.
The monitor showed soldiers facing off against Kobolds, who had become even more ferocious and powerful in a berserk state.
Living Armors made of metal, cloth, and leather.
No, they weren’t Living Armors, since they weren’t animated by dark magic.
Then what should he call them?
Even Riohr, the caretaker of the Tower, didn’t know the true nature of these soldiers.
“Combat Team, fighting!”
The master of those soldiers.
Because the climber called them the ‘Combat Team,’ Riohr also called them by that name.
Not long after he started waving the cheering stick—
[Trial of the Third Floor: ‘Wild Kobold’ has been overcome.]
[Conquest Evaluation Rank: SSS]
[With the trial of the Third Floor conquered, the Tower is weakened.]
“Kkya-ho! That’s it! Sweep them all away!”
The climber had cleared the Third Floor.
To think they’d overcome three trials at once the moment they entered.
Now he finally understood why the two statues—Gatekeepers—had poured out every blessing on a Blacksmith, not even a Warrior, and allowed him to enter the Tower.
The climber moved on to the Fourth Floor.
Trial of the Fourth Floor, Sewer of Ratman.
Ratmen lurking in the sewers, attacking silently with poison—these must be incredibly tricky monsters to face.
[Trial of the Fourth Floor: ‘Sewer of Ratman’ has been overcome.]
[Conquest Evaluation Rank: SSS]
[With the trial of the Fifth Floor conquered, the Tower is weakened.]
“He’s crazy. He’s crazy. He’s craaazy!”
The climber cleared the Fourth Floor as if it were nothing.
‘He could do it; this was really possible.’
Riohr, sitting here, saw that this climber was faster and stronger than any other he’d ever seen.
This wasn’t just Riohr’s subjective judgment.
The ‘Conquest Evaluation Rank’ was a score assigned by the Tower’s own system.
This climber had earned the highest SSS rank on every floor, from the First to the Fourth.
Even the Tower itself was recognizing the climber’s skills as the very best.
But then—
“Huh? Going straight to the Fifth Floor? The Fifth Floor is a bit dangerous, though…?”
The climber started to ascend the stairs to the Fifth Floor without pause.
There was no doubt the climber was strong, but a bit of caution was needed.
Every fifth floor, the Tower’s difficulty spiked sharply.
Even though the climber was dominating the Tower now, there was no telling when or where he might meet a sudden and violent end.
Because of that—
“Tatadat!”
Riohr hastily sent a warning message to the climber.
He hoped the climber would see it and take time to prepare and then return, but even if not, at least it would make him pause, clear his head, and think calmly for a moment.
Until now, Riohr had rarely interfered with any climber, no matter who they were.
But this time, almost instinctively, he stepped up and sent the warning message—surprising even himself.
Well, the climber hesitated for a moment, then steeled himself and headed for the Fifth Floor anyway.
“Please…”
Trial of the Fifth Floor, Orc Invasion.
It was a trial to defend a village from hundreds of Orcs.
To block hundreds of Orcs alone.
Even if the enemies were Orcs, the difficulty was beyond imagination.
In fact, many climbers had ignored the Tower’s difficulty, charging up to the Fourth Floor like this, only to be trampled to death by the overwhelming numbers of Orcs on the Fifth.
But—
At first, Riohr hoped the climber would be frightened by the Orcs’ might, retreat to prepare, and come back.
“Kraa! My gut—splitting apart!”
But not anymore.
The climber, using his Blacksmith Class, created a Cannon.
Then, he began firing shells, mowing down the Orcs in swathes.
To Orcs armed with cold steel in an age of melee weapons, he demonstrated the searing power of firearms.
He even used S-rank materials to create a massive field of acidic slime.
That much was fine.
“Taat!”
“Argh! The Legion Commander!”
The Orc Legion Commander leaped out.
Monsters of the Tower were no fools.
Each one had thoughts and intelligence.
The Orc Legion Commander, who had to lead all those Orcs, was far more intelligent than the others.
And so, the Legion Commander realized—the master of the Combat Team was the climber.
If only the climber was killed, they would win this battle.
“Nooo!”
A scream burst from Riohr’s mouth.
Not this climber.
Thanks to the Gatekeeper’s Blessing, the climber wouldn’t die from a single blow by the Orc Legion Commander, but—
What if he developed a trauma from it?
Riohr hoped the climber would sense the threat and use the Power of Exit to escape.
“Puh-ung!”
But instead, the climber in the screen swung his hammer, not running away.
“Block him!”
***
The moment I met his eyes, I knew.
That Orc Legion Commander.
He was definitely targeting me.
No matter how many times the Combat Team blocked his path, he neither changed direction nor slowed his pace.
“Slice!”
Combat 1’s sword aura slashed his flesh.
“Crack!”
Combat 7 and 8’s joint attack dented his chest so hard that ribs snapped.
“Crack-crackle!”
Combat 4’s magic froze his body, turning his skin a ghastly blue.
Even after being snared by Combat 19’s whip, he simply dragged 19 along and charged forward.
Of course, I wasn’t just standing by watching.
“Fire!”
“Puh-ung!”
A freshly made, still-warm cannonball was fired.
Combat 18’s aim was precise, and the Orc Legion Commander didn’t try to dodge.
“Kwaang!!”
He took the shell head-on.
Was that enough to finish him?
No.
It wasn’t.
The killing intent I’d felt when I met the Legion Commander’s eyes wasn’t something that would be ended by just this.
Sure enough—
“Chiiiiik!”
Through the black smoke of the exploded shell, the Orc Legion Commander came charging.
The steel armor, adorned with bones and iron, was burnt and twisted, no longer functional.
His body was flayed, muscles exposed, bones broken.
Even so, the Orc Legion Commander didn’t stop.
Seeing this, I—
[Activating Crafting Skill.]
Once more, I swung my hammer.
This would be the last time.
It was terrifying to be attacked by the Orc Legion Commander, but with the Gatekeeper’s Blessing, I wouldn’t go down in one hit.
“I’ll protect you.”
“Alright, buy me some time!”
The shield-bearer wielding a Legendary shield.
Combat 5 stood guard before me.
[Select the form of the item to craft.]
Of course, I was making a cannonball.
But I doubted a regular shell would stop the Orc Legion Commander.
So, though it was a bit of a waste—
[Ratman’s Dark Fang]
I added the Ratman’s Dark Fang I’d acquired on the previous floor as a material.
“Kang!”
I didn’t care about precision.
In fact, by hammering carelessly, I intentionally made the shell unstable.
Sometimes, in a pinch, the instability would make the explosion even more powerful.
[Crafting Completed]
[You have obtained the ‘Ratman’s Dark Fang Shell.’]
The shell was done.
“Kwaang!”
“Dududududuk—”
The Orc Legion Commander and Combat 5’s shield collided.
Combat 5 was pushed back at a terrifying speed.
He only managed to endure because he was wielding a Legendary shield.
The Legion Commander’s strength was greater than expected.
How could such a powerful monster exist on just the Fifth Floor?
Was this even possible?
Now, I understood why the Tower had never been conquered.
Even as I had those thoughts, my body moved automatically, shoving the shell into the Cannon’s barrel.
“Fire!”
I gave the order to fire.
“Puh-ung!”
Combat 18 fired the Cannon at once.
Because I had pushed it to the limit without maintenance, the Cannon’s durability reached its end and exploded along with this last shot.
But in exchange—
With the ‘Heating’ effect that raised attack power with each use, and ‘Overload’ that strengthened the last attack when destroyed, the shell’s power was enormous.
At that moment, the Legion Commander finally shoved Combat 5 aside.
And then—
“Kwaaaaaang—!!!”
The shell and the Orc Legion Commander collided.
An ear-splitting explosion.
From the shell burst out sharp fangs.
Ratman’s Dark Fang.
Like shrapnel from a grenade, the fangs pierced through the Legion Commander’s entire body, and thick black smoke gushed out, swallowing the surroundings.
“Kuuu—”
The explosion was so fierce, the ground and air trembled with its force.
In that instant—
Not only the remaining Orcs, but even my own assistants focused entirely on the outcome.
Everyone knew it.
Whether the Orc Legion Commander survived would decide the battle.
And then—
“Thud.”
Out of the black smoke, the Orc Legion Commander staggered forward.
There wasn’t a single uninjured spot left on him.
With his body charred like charcoal, studded with black fangs, he dragged himself out of the smoke.
Still, I did not run.
Because the eyes of the Legion Commander, emerging from the smoke, were no longer brimming with murderous intent; they were rolled back and unfocused.
“Kuung.”
The Orc Legion Commander collapsed.
“Phew—” I let out a sigh of relief.
“Clean up.” At Combat 1’s order, the Combat Team began mopping up the remaining Orcs.
Trial of the Fifth Floor.
To think it would be this tough.
Clearing up to the Fourth Floor, I’d thought the Tower was nothing, but this shattered my expectations completely.
Staring at the fallen Legion Commander, I sank to the ground, catching my breath.
[Level up.]
[Level up.]
[Level up.]
The experience from the trial must have been enormous; messages of leveling up rang out in succession.
[Trial of the Fifth Floor: ‘Orc Invasion’ has been overcome.]
[Conquest Evaluation Rank: SSS]
[As a reward, ‘Green Barbarian’s Bone Shard’ will be granted.]
[With the trial of the Fifth Floor conquered, the Tower is weakened.]
A message appeared, signaling the end of the trial.
And with it, the reward appeared before me.
But the power I sensed from this reward was extraordinary.
Green Barbarian’s Bone Shard.
I thought, ‘It was just a bone shard.’
There was nothing particularly unique about it, so I assumed ‘Green Barbarian’ simply meant Orc, and it was just a chunk of Orc bone.
But as a Blacksmith, I could feel that the power contained in this material was far from ordinary.
It was the same feeling as when I mined Cheonjeoseok at the Tower’s entrance.
With trembling hands, I checked the item information.
[Green Barbarian’s Bone Shard]
Type: Material
Rank: SS
Description: The sacred relic of the ancestor god of the Green Fang Tribe, ‘Green Barbarian.’ This bone shard holds the primal, powerful strength once possessed by the ancient Orcs.
“Double S-rank…?”
It was actually SS-rank material.
Except for Cheonjeoseok, this was the first time I’d obtained SS-rank material on my own.