Chapter 38
“I am Kim Dae-woong, and I will be working in the Climber Surveillance Department starting today! I look forward to working with you all!”
Entering the Climber Surveillance Department's office with a trembling heart, Kim Dae-woong greeted them loudly.
The team members, who had been staring at him while blinking, soon gave him a small round of applause.
“Wow, a newbie. A newbie.”
“Welcome. What level are you, Mr. Dae-woong?”
“I-I am Level 2! Easy Difficulty 3rd Floor!”
“Take a seat and relax for now. The Section Chief should be returning soon.”
Kim Dae-woong sat in a corner seat, nervously looking around.
The Section Chief of the Climber Surveillance Department was a prominent celebrity even among the Climbers of the Republic of Korea.
Shin Sujin. A Level 30 Climber on the Normal Difficulty 16th Floor.
She was an incredible person who had cleared five floors this year alone, rising to become the domestic Record Holder for Normal Difficulty. It was just yesterday that the massive news of her clearing the 15th Floor had broken.
Kim Dae-woong had also been inspired by her, which was why he had joined the Climber Surveillance Department—a move that would get him called a crazy bastard among other Climbers.
Suddenly, people materialized in the middle of the office.
“Ah, Section Chief. You're here?”
Everyone greeted them calmly, and only Kim Dae-woong was startled.
Of the man and woman, the woman spotted Kim Dae-woong and looked at him.
One of the team members immediately introduced him.
“Section Chief, this is the new recruit who was supposed to arrive today.”
“A-Hello! I am Kim Dae-woong! My difficulty is Easy 2nd Floor...!”
Shin Sujin reached out her hand and greeted him.
“Welcome. I'm Section Chief Shin Sujin.”
“Y-Yes. It's an honor...!”
“...An honor?”
“A-No, I mean, I will work hard from now on!”
The people around them burst into laughter.
Kim Dae-woong's face turned a little red as he looked at the man and woman.
He had heard about it. That there was a team within the Climber Surveillance Department in charge of duties in the 5th Floor Common Area. That meant the man was also a Climber of the 5th Floor or higher.
“Yes, I look forward to working with you.”
Shin Sujin soon left for somewhere else.
As Kim Dae-woong stared blankly at her retreating back, the man casually spoke to him.
“Mr. Dae-woong, was it? How old are you?”
“Ah, I was born in “98.”
“Hmm\~ Why did you join the Climber Surveillance Department? Didn”t the people around you call you crazy when you said you were coming here?”
“Ah, yes. I heard that a lot.”
Kang Juhyeok chuckled.
Why would a Climber, who could easily make a living selling Magic Stones, come to roll around in the Climber Bureau? That was usually the natural reaction.
Kim Dae-woong spoke in a slightly bashful tone.
“Well, I personally respect Section Chief Shin Sujin, and actually, my goal is to climb up to the 5th Floor Common Area as well.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. So I wanted to lend a hand in that area, or something like that.”
Kang Juhyeok nodded in feigned admiration.
“That's impressive. But the 5th Floor duties are a lot harder than you'd think, you know? People die left and right.”
“...Pardon?”
“Well, it's practically a half-lawless zone. Having a battle of nerves with Climbers from other countries is a daily occurrence. And if things go a bit wrong, we actually end up fighting.”
Kim Dae-woong's complexion gradually worsened. Kang Juhyeok laughed and waved his hand.
“I'm joking, joking. It's still a place where people live, so it's not quite to that extent.”
“Ah...”
“Anyway, if your goal is the 5th Floor, we'll be working together later. Ah, of course we're on the same team now, but I mean the 5th Floor Dedicated Team.”
Kang Juhyeok patted his shoulder.
“It's cool, giving up an easy life to come here. I look forward to working with you.”
“Ah, yes! Me too...!”
Watching Kang Juhyeok leave to follow Shin Sujin, Kim Dae-woong's heart pounded.
His resolve to work hard from now on grew even stronger.
---
As soon as Shin Sujin returned from the 5th Floor, she had to deal with annoying people.
“Congratulations, Section Chief Shin. You are now the top Normal Difficulty Climber in the country. Haha.”
After roughly dealing with High-ranking Government Officials from some department who had visited without notice, Shin Sujin made herself a cup of Coffee in the breakroom.
“You should say a word to the Director-General, Team Leader. Tell him you'll quit if he keeps letting those kinds of people visit.”
Shin Sujin chuckled at Kang Juhyeok, who had approached her side and cracked a joke.
Kang Juhyeok also made himself an instant coffee and subtly asked.
“But by any chance... are you planning to challenge the 16th Floor as well?”
Shin Sujin shook her head.
“No. I have no intention of challenging it further for the time being.”
“Phew, I thought so. Seeing you climb the Tower, Team Leader, I wondered if you were aiming to be the Record Holder.”
Record Holder, huh.
Currently, the highest record for Normal Difficulty was the 20th Floor.
And regardless of the difficulty, the closer one got to the Highest Floor, the less information was properly disclosed, or it wasn't disclosed at all.
This was because, excluding Nightmare Difficulty, the Climbers at the highest floors of other difficulties never carelessly released information. After all, the information was also a reward they had risked their lives to obtain.
Even for Normal Difficulty, information from the 16th Floor onwards was not properly disclosed.
Therefore, if Shin Sujin were to challenge it, the pressure would be on a completely different level from her previous challenges. The fear of the unknown was just that immense.
Facing it directly, she realized once again just how incredible Person123 was.
That person endured this kind of pressure and even cleared three floors on Nightmare Difficulty? And then they released all that information without asking for anything in return.
Shin Sujin usually had little interest in others, but she often found herself thinking about him.
After all, he was the Hero of Humanity, and someone she was personally very grateful to.
Ever since Seo Dong-woo was killed, she no longer had nightmares.
Honestly, she wanted to see his face at least once more and properly express her gratitude, but when they conversed through the Communication Window, she could feel him drawing a line, so she couldn't do it.
She only hoped that an opportunity to do so would come someday.
“Ah, by the way, it's almost time. One hour left.”
Kang Juhyeok changed the subject. There was no subject in his sentence, but Shin Sujin understood immediately.
The Tower's 3-year Rule. Today was the very day that the First-Wave Climbers who had not yet climbed the Tower would die.
Naturally, most people had challenged Easy and Normal, and statistics showed that about 5% had given up on challenging Hard.
*Above all, for Nightmare, far more than half the people had given up on the challenge.*
Currently, the number of people registered as Nightmare Climbers in the Republic of Korea was just over three hundred.
The Surviving Personnel at the time of the Nightmare 1st Floor Clear was about 70,000. Considering the population ratio, it was estimated that there were at least a hundred more First-Wave Nightmare Climbers.
The Government had offered various rewards and benefits to identify and support domestic First-Wave Nightmare Climbers, but there were quite a few who hadn't reported themselves. And it could be assumed that all of them had given up.
It was a pity, but there was no way to help them.
Having finished their Coffee, Shin Sujin and Kang Juhyeok moved on to their next task.
“You know that murder case I mentioned last time? They sent a request for cooperation, saying it seems a Climber really is the culprit. I can just go by myself, Team Leader. You should get some rest.”
“I just finished resting. Let's go together.”
“Yep, let's go then.”
---
As soon as I finished solving the cube, I slammed it into the slot.
29 seconds. My record had improved a lot.
“I'll break it soon, won't I?”
The reason I was trying to shorten my record for the 3rd Floor Cube, which I had already cleared.
It was none other than because I had received a request from Mr. Rhinoceros.
He wanted to know the exact information on whether the boss would be weakened proportionally if the time to activate the Sun Emblem was shortened to under 3 minutes.
It was something that had been bothering me inwardly as well, so I decided to verify it.
Well, after practicing a bit, I did start to get the hang of it.
Besides, I could use Time Stop intermittently while solving the cube, making it easier to shorten the time.
I didn't necessarily need to insist on getting under 20 seconds, and I had already confirmed that the boss weakened when I shortened the cube record a bit more and reduced the Sun Emblem activation time to under 3 minutes.
But for the sake of accurate information, I kept attempting the 20-second Cube. It would probably happen soon.
“Out of the way, out of the way\~.”
I pushed past the Undead in the Passage that I encountered on my way to the Cavern.
I activated the Sun Emblem, went up, and completely wiped out the boss.
For reference, after clearing the hidden route, the Temple disappeared.
All that spread out in every direction was the Endless Plain. Just like the other floors, there was nothing more worth trying.
I exited the 3rd Floor.
And entered again. To the 2nd Floor.
“Now, let's run.”
I climbed onto Flee's back and sprinted through the night Forest Path with Diul.
My Affinity Raising Quest with Diul was always a work in progress, so I steadily continued our night walks.
“Ah\~ I hope the ability after Stealth gets unlocked soon too.”
When I muttered as if for him to hear, Diul snorted.
There's no need to scoff, you punk.
Well, it hadn't been long since I got Stealth, so hoping for the next stage already was a bit shameless.
I had already tested various things regarding Diul's Stealth Ability.
First, the maximum duration of the Stealth Ability was about 10 minutes.
It seemed like this time would increase as my connection with Diul grew stronger.
Second, during the Stealth State, all sounds or presence I made were blocked.
Rather than simply being invisible to the eye, it seemed to be an ability that erased one's very presence.
And third, Stealth would be broken if I received an impact above a certain level, picked up speed, or used a Skill.
In short, it was impossible to maintain it continuously during combat.
However, even if Stealth was broken, I could quickly activate it again.
Even with just this much, the applications for this Stealth Ability were truly endless.
“Don't you have any separate abilities, Flee?”
I asked Flee, who was running with me on his back.
Of course, there was no answer. He just sprinted hard in excitement.
Right, for this guy, his Level 50 physical specs were an ability in themselves.
After all, without the Destruction Line Skill, he was a monster I still wasn't entirely confident I could beat.
Ah, but Flee could also communicate mentally like Diul. If that was a Telepathy Ability, then it was an ability.
After running excitedly and finishing my 2nd Floor night walk, I returned to my room.
I had to head out soon. Today was the day I was receiving the Magic Stones.
“Should I buy a car?”
The thought suddenly occurred to me.
I had never really felt the need for one, so I only took public transportation. I hadn't even gotten my driver's license yet.
Wouldn't going out for a drive occasionally be a decent hobby, just like riding Flee around in the Tower?
I had once seen a documentary on YouXube saying it was dangerous for Climbers to get too absorbed in the Tower.
Being a Climber meant risking one's life and having to kill things with one's own hands, after all.
I didn't feel like I had changed much from before, but mental health was definitely something I needed to take good care of.
Come to think of it, I had been so busy going in and out of the Tower that I hadn't gone out lately unless it was necessary.
I decided that since I was going out today, I should take a long walk around before coming back.
\[Shooting Star: It's almost time. One hour left.\]
\[Sweet Potato Potato: What are the Nightmare Difficulty Climbers going to do;\]
\[Kedi: But even if it were me, if I got Nightmare, I'd probably just die instead of challenging it.\]
Out of habit, I briefly browsed the Communication Window before closing it.
Twenty days had passed since the 3rd Floor Clear, and today was the day foretold by the 3-year Rule.
Among the First-Wave Climbers who had first received the Tower's Call, those who hadn't climbed would soon die.
I heard they could even see a separate timer.
In their eyes, a timer with about an hour left was ticking down.
\[Nightmare\]
Personnel: 333,585
Deadline: 1 year 1 hour 1 minute 39 seconds
Reached Floor: 4th Floor
\[Nightmare (15th Clearer)\]
For reference, a few more people had recently succeeded, bringing the number of Nightmare clearers to fifteen.
Looking at the reduced numbers, it seemed a significant portion of the First-Wave Climbers had attempted the challenge, but the survival rate was despairingly low, which wasn't even surprising anymore.
There was still an hour left, so there would probably be more people who would challenge it.
As expected, there seemed to be many who chose to accept death and not attempt the challenge.
It couldn't be helped.
Hoping that they would at least meet a peaceful death, I got ready to go out.
---
While driving to the Seoul Seocho Police Station, Shin Sujin and Kang Juhyeok noticed a crowd of people huddled together on the street.
“Back off! You bastards! If you come closer, I'll really kill you!”
Startled, the two immediately parked the car and got out.
A man was holding a knife to a woman's neck, taking her hostage.
“Fuck, why do I have to die! Someone save me...!”
“Calm down! Calm down and put the knife down!”
Kang Juhyeok stepped forward and tried to calm the man down.
The man, who appeared to be in an abnormal state, screamed in despair.
“Would you be calm if you were me! I'm a Nightmare Climber! I only have 3 minutes left! Aaaagh!”
Shin Sujin checked the Nightmare Deadline.
\[Nightmare\]
Personnel: 330,982
Deadline: 1 year 2 minutes 59 seconds
Reached Floor: 4th Floor
Just as the man said, the remaining time was now only about 3 minutes.
The moment the remaining deadline hit exactly 1 year, the 3-year Rule would trigger.
A person backed into a corner like that could really kill someone. Blood was already trickling from the woman's neck.
Just as Shin Sujin was agonizing over whether she should attempt a rescue even if it meant forcing it.
Clatter.
The man suddenly dropped the knife and slumped to the ground.
Shin Sujin immediately stepped in and secured the panicked woman.
“It's all done... It's over... Uhuhu...”
As if he had given up in despair, the man chuckled hollowly and muttered.
Kang Juhyeok approached his side. He could only offer the man a single sentence.
“I am truly sorry.”
10 seconds, 9 seconds, 8 seconds...
The time was approaching.
Both Shin Sujin and Kang Juhyeok just quietly watched the man's condition.
And then...
\[3 years have been exceeded.\]
\[A total of 43,456 Climbers have died for failing to enter the Tower.\]
Along with the message, the man collapsed without any warning.
The onlookers held their breath.
Kang Juhyeok checked the collapsed man's pulse and muttered.
“...So this is how they die.”
Shin Sujin also let out a sigh, and just as she was about to approach the man's corpse.
\[Climbers who die from the Tower's Curse will be resurrected as the 'Fallen'.\]
\[There is a 90% chance of a Stage 1 Fallen appearing.\]
\[There is a 9% chance of a Stage 2 Fallen appearing.\]
\[There is a 0.9% chance of a Stage 3 Fallen appearing.\]
\[There is a 0.09% chance of a Stage 4 Fallen appearing.\]
\[There is a 0.01% chance of a Stage 5 Fallen appearing.\]