Chapter 55
After posting the 4th Floor Information Post in the chat window.
I was busy going in and out of the 4th Floor constantly.
The 4th Floor was complicated for other Nightmare Challengers to strategize because of the Shop System. It was definitely bound to be that way.
Ultimately, how to spend points to maximize efficiency was the key to clearing the 4th Floor.
Based on the information post I wrote, Mr. Rhinoceros came up with various strategies and methods, constantly seeking my advice. He asked about details he wanted to confirm.
Mr. Rhinoceros was just a prime example; other nations were seeking my advice just the same.
And as always, I simply gave them as much help as I could.
It was just that this floor was exceptionally busier than the other floors.
The 5th Floor wasn't urgent anyway, so I could enter it a bit later.
\[Time remaining until First Branch Tower Appearance: 5 minutes 29 seconds\]
While I was doing that, a week had already passed.
Now, the time remaining until the Branch Tower Appearance was merely a few minutes.
"I'm scared; I'm really scared..."
I was scared of what kind of stunt the Tower would pull next.
Would the world turn into a mess again like during the Fallen Incident?
Honestly, I was worried that an even worse disaster than that might occur.
I sat in front of my desk and quietly waited for the time to run out.
3 seconds, 2 seconds, 1 second...
The moment the time ran out!
\[The First Branch Tower appears.\]
A message popped up.
\[The Branch Tower extends up to the 10th Floor.\]
\[Once you enter the Branch Tower, you cannot exit until you clear the final floor.\]
\[If the Branch Tower is not cleared to the Last Floor within the deadline, a 100-kilometer radius centered on the Branch Tower will be eroded by the Tower's Curse.\]
\[The erosion is maintained permanently, and any human existing within the eroded zone will immediately die from the Tower's Curse.\]
\[Climbers can enter the Branch Tower from within a 100-kilometer radius of the Branch Tower.\]
\[First Branch Tower Deadline: 6 days 23 hours 59 minutes 55 seconds\]
\[Time remaining until Second Branch Tower Appearance: 6 days 23 hours 59 minutes 55 seconds\]
I calmly read the messages that popped up one after another.
After I read them all, the conclusion was simple.
"Haa..."
This is driving me crazy.
What kind of bullshit is this now?
---
The location where the First Branch Tower appeared was China.
A massive black tower soared in the middle of downtown Chongqing City.
Simultaneously with the Tower's appearance, an earthquake struck the area, resulting in many casualties.
But what was even more serious was the message the Tower had announced.
\[Phoenix: Erosion? Does this mean the Tower's Curse is descending on the land itself?\]
\[Jupiter: It means everyone within a 100km radius will die.\]
\[Turtle: Since they die from the Tower's Curse, they'll become the Fallen when they die, right?\]
\[Normal Human: Wow... Isn't China screwed then?\]
\[Wade: Can't they just go outside the radius? A week is plenty of time.\]
\[Steel Sword: It's a 100-kilometer radius, do you think it's easy for everyone there to escape within a week? Is your head just for decoration?\]
\[Charging on Horseback: The problem is that the erosion is permanently maintained. It sounds like it'll just become a Land of Death where no human can enter.\]
\[Songgyeong: I live in Chongqing and it's absolute chaos right now. All the outbound roads are blocked, so we can't even leave by car.\]
- The First Branch Tower has appeared in Chongqing City, China. The Chinese government has not yet released an official statement, and Chongqing City and Sichuan Province are currently in a state of chaos...
The world was in an uproar, and the interior of China was in even more of an uproar.
Not only Chongqing, but some cities in eastern Sichuan Province, such as Nanchong, Suining, and Guang'an, also fell within the 100-kilometer radius of erosion.
A mass exodus from the cities took place, involving citizens living in the predicted erosion range and its neighboring areas. The roads were completely blocked, and there were countless people trying to leave on foot.
Despite the outcry of countless people, the Chinese Government only recommended an orderly evacuation and did not state any particular position for a full day.
\[Great Nature: Who's going to clear that?\]
\[Walker Walker: It says you can enter from within a 100-kilometer radius. If anyone's going to do it, it has to be the Chinese climbers.\]
\[Ultrasound: But with no information at all, who would be crazy enough to go in... lol. They say you have to clear the 10th Floor.\]
\[Watangku: I wonder what the difficulty level is.\]
\[Egg Toast: If you're curious, go in and see for yourself.\]
The second day after the Branch Tower appeared.
As the situation grew increasingly serious, a new message popped up.
\[The First Branch Tower has been cleared to the last floor.\]
There was a message that the Branch Tower had been cleared.
People were surprised by the message that the Branch Tower had already been cleared, and wondered who had cleared it.
Their identity was quickly revealed.
- Wang Kai, China's Record Holder for Hard Difficulty, has successfully cleared the First Branch Tower.
Wang Kai, the Record Holder for Hard Difficulty and the official World's highest level climber.
He was the very one who had challenged and cleared the Branch Tower.
\[When a Branch Tower is cleared, the Tower's power takes root in the land within a 100-kilometer radius of the Branch Tower, forming a Mamaek.\]
Such a message also popped up after the Branch Tower was cleared.
Formation of a Mamaek within a 100-kilometer radius.
People soon learned what that meant.
- A large-scale magic stone mine has been discovered in the vicinity of the Branch Tower in Chongqing City. This appears to be related to the formation of the Mamaek announced by the Tower...
magic stones began popping out from the surface of the land or underground, near the Branch Tower.
What was even more surprising was that the appearing magic stones existed in all grades.
Lowest, Lower, Intermediate, Higher, and even Highest Grade magic stones.
Although the higher the grade of the magic stone, the lower its appearance rate, the very fact that Highest Grade magic stones—which until now could only be obtained in Nightmare Difficulty—had appeared was astonishing.
The Chinese Government immediately designated the areas where magic stones were discovered as a controlled zone and blocked civilian access.
No matter how many climbers bring magic stones from the Tower through repeat clears, the current reality is that supply still cannot keep up with the overwhelming demand.
Although there was no limit to the number of repeat clears, rewards only dropped about once every ten times, and the amount of magic stones that dropped at once was small.
Furthermore, the magic stones obtained as Tower clear rewards were not owned by the nation until now, but were ultimately resources that had to be purchased with money from the climbers.
Therefore, the appearance of a Mamaek was no different from a massive jackpot for a nation.
The Branch Tower wasn't just a whip; it was an entity that also provided a corresponding carrot if cleared.
\[Time remaining until Second Branch Tower Appearance: 1 day 20 hours 16 minutes 48 seconds\]
Although the attention of various nations was briefly drawn to the massive Mamaek that China had obtained.
Even so, there was no nation that wished for the next Branch Tower to appear in its own country.
Wang Kai, as if it were a given, did not engage in information sharing, including what appeared in the Branch Tower and what the difficulty level was.
Still with no information about the Branch Tower, even with the reward of a Mamaek, the risk of whether it could be cleared or not was far greater.
The world criticized China for not sharing information.
However, China merely repeated its stance that it was Wang Kai's personal choice and the government could not force information sharing.
It was a blatant lie. Who wouldn't know that Wang Kai's actions were no different from China's will?
A chaotic week passed, and the time approached for the Second Branch Tower to appear.
\[The Second Branch Tower appears.\]
This time, it was Mongolia.
A black Branch Tower appeared in downtown Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.
The Mongolian government immediately requested help from China.
They had no other choice. With absolutely no idea what the difficulty of the Branch Tower was, what climber would try to challenge it?
Moreover, Mongolia was an underdeveloped nation when it came to Tower climbing.
A nation's climber talent pool was generally proportional to its national power. Even Mongolia's Highest Level Climber was more than Level 10 below Wang Kai.
China's stance on Mongolia's request for help was simple.
Of course we should help. But shouldn't you pay a corresponding price?
For a while, the news was abuzz with stories of negotiations between the Mongolian government and the Chinese government.
---
It is the second week since the Branch Towers appeared.
Wang Kai had succeeded in quickly clearing the First Branch Tower that appeared in China.
As soon as I heard that news, I was still able to relax my mind a little.
‘I guess the difficulty isn't completely absurd.’
The Second Branch Tower appeared in Mongolia. It appeared in Northeast Asia again.
Unsurprisingly, China did not share the Branch Tower's information.
News was coming out every day that Mongolia was currently negotiating with China.
The issues were that China was making unreasonable demands of Mongolia, that Mongolia would have no choice but to accept, and similar issues.
\[Second Branch Tower Deadline: 5 days 9 hours 28 minutes 36 seconds\]
I simply made up my mind.
"Shall I go clear it?"
Ever since it appeared in China, I had been thinking that if things went south, I would have to clear it myself.
Since Wang Kai wasn't releasing information, I didn't know for sure, but I figured there might be a personal reward for the clearer besides the Mamaek upon clearing the Branch Tower.
*Above all, since I confirmed that Wang Kai had succeeded, I didn't think clearing the Branch Tower would be highly dangerous.*
There was no way another climber had cleared a difficulty level that even I couldn't clear.
Wang Kai had cleared Hard Difficulty up to the 15th Floor and was Level 60.
In other words, he was the same level as I.
But well, even if we're the same level... I use the Time Stop Ability too, don't I?
It wasn't arrogance; it was a fact that my specs were bound to be much higher than other climbers of the same level.
Of course, it could be that the difficulty varied for each Branch Tower or something like that.
Either way, if it was to the point where I couldn't clear it, no one could.
With the mindset I always had when challenging Nightmare Difficulty, I decided to clear the Branch Tower.
The problem was that to enter the Branch Tower, I had to go within a 100-kilometer radius of the Branch Tower.
In other words, I had to go to Mongolia myself.
"There are no flights..."
As soon as the Branch Tower appeared in Mongolia, the Korean government swiftly slapped on the highest level travel ban.
Still, there was a way.
I had amazingly obtained this exact thing as a 4th Floor Hidden Reward.
\[Item: The Highest Grade Warp Device\]
It is a warp device integrating the magic engineering technology of the Dateian Empire. It can be activated by charging willpower, and you can move 10 meters per 1 willpower. You can move to a saved point or use the device by setting a direction. You can save up to one point. However, Movement between the inside and outside of the Tower is impossible. It takes 10 minutes to activate.
Current Charge: 100/1,000,000
Looking it up, I found that the distance from Seoul to Ulaanbaatar was about 2,000km.
I could easily go there with the warp device.
However, about three problems came to mind.
First, the distance is quite far, so what about the Margin of Error?
Hmm... I figured this wouldn't be much of a problem.
The warp device didn't really have a cooldown.
If I moved to the wrong place, I could just adjust the direction and move again. This would be possible by buying a high-performance GPS device.
And since I only needed to enter within a 100-kilometer radius of the Branch Tower anyway, a little error was fine.
Next problem, what if someone sees me warping?
This problem was also easily solved.
I could just use Stealth and warp.
Stealth wears off when using a Skill, not when using an item. And the warp device was an item.
The last problem.
Actually, this was the biggest problem.
The distance I had to travel to Mongolia was about 2,000km.
The willpower I needed to charge into the warp device was about 200,000.
...How long is this going to take to fill?
Since my current willpower is 2,100, I have to do a willpower refill to charge it a whopping 100 times. That means it will take 100 hours.
It meant I had to repeat the same thing I did while firing the cannon during the 3rd Floor Hidden event.
I even have to do it one more time when coming back.
...I have to do it. What else can I do?
I couldn't just let the Mongolian capital become a Land of Death just because I couldn't do this much.
Striking while the iron was hot, I immediately started charging the warp device.
In the Self Time and Spirit Room, there are about 160 hours. I'll start.
Charge the warp device, stop time and do a Willpower Refill; charge, refill...
When I took a short break and went out to the kitchen to drink water, Mother asked in the middle.
"Are you tired, Seohyeon? What's wrong with your face?"
"...I guess I'm a bit tired."
I've filled half of it now.
I returned to my room to fill the remaining 50 hours.
Charge, refill, charge, refill, charge, refill, charge, refill...
Current Charge: 210,100/1,000,000
"...Hah."
I finally filled it all.
I changed clothes and got ready to leave the house.
“Should I write a will?”
Honestly, I didn't think there was any chance of a Conquest Failure, but...
Just in case, I wrote a will just like when I challenged Nightmare Difficulty.
"I'll be going now."
"Where are you going?"
"I have plans with a friend. I might come back a bit late."
I looked it up on the internet, went to an electronics store, bought a brand-name, high-performance GPS device, and roughly learned how to operate it.
With this, the preparations were finished.
\[Would you like to save your current location as a point?\]
I got a motel room and set the point to my current location.
Then, I set the direction to the northwest where Ulaanbaatar was located by using a map and compass app.
I activated the warp device and waited 10 minutes.
\[0:05\]
"Shall we go?"
Right before the time was up, I activated Stealth.
The warp activated, and the space in front of my eyes distorted.
Mongolia's Branch Tower.
I am going... to clear it now.