Chapter 16
While I stood there blankly, another window covered the Floor 2 score window.
[You will automatically be moved to the ‘Floor 3 waiting room’ in 3 minutes.]
Three minutes.
I turned away from the three people staring blankly at me and bent down beside the Orc Shaman.
All I could think about was that I had to quickly take whatever I could.
I tried to take even the staff the shaman bastard had used, but the description window that appeared in my vision made me let go.
[The Orc Shaman's Unique Staff]
Unusable by races other than orcs.
…Was there anything else?
One necklace, radiating a presence all its own amid the ornaments dangling from its neck, caught my eye.
[Swift Navy-Blue Necklace]
Category - Accessory
Effect: After equipping it, pressing the center of the jewel temporarily increases the player's movement speed.
Effect activation limit: 4
Usable level: Level 10 or higher
Grade: C+
It at least looked useful, so I put it in my Inventory.
After getting to my feet, I looked behind me.
Risellin, the mercenary captain, whose eyes met mine, pointed down the mountain and spoke.
“Yoo-seong, we can head down the mountain now, right? It looks like the sun will be up soon.”
Mercenary Rohan was shaking blood off his sword.
Mage Yunes repeatedly wiped the blood and scraps of flesh from the leather clothing.
“Eek!”
Making a strange sound.
NPC.
No matter how I looked at Risellin, the mercenary captain just seemed like an ordinary person.
According to the seniors in the Transcendent Gallery, setting the others aside, I seemed very likely to meet the mercenary captain Risellin again.
In any case, if I vanished like this, it would obviously be awkward the next time we met no matter what I said. Even so, I felt I should at least say goodbye.
“Uh, see you next time.”
“Huh?”
All three faces turned toward me with bewilderment.
Three minutes was both long and short.
I felt a strange sensation of floating, as though my body were rising into the air.
In an instant, darkness flooded my vision.
[Welcome to Floor 3.]
When things returned to normal, I found myself in a place whose scenery was little different from the Floor 2 waiting room.
[You have been awarded 600 coins as a Floor 2 breakthrough reward.]
[An item has been awarded as a Pandemonium Floor 2 breakthrough reward. Check your ‘Inventory’.]
A clock hung on the central wall here as well.
February 23.
Two days remaining until the Tower Exchange Gathering.
Tower Exchange Gathering date and time : February 25, 12:00
There was still more time than I'd expected.
But not enough to even consider challenging the Floor 3 stage.
Two days would pass in an instant if I spent them training.
Just as I was about to open my Inventory to check the Floor 2 breakthrough reward item, a notification window blocked my view.
[Han Yoo-seong : 1,532 points]
[Registering score.]
[Please choose a nickname to register on the score rankings.]
[Nickname : ]
The blank next to Nickname was blinking, as though urging me to register a name quickly.
There was no option to keep the ranking score itself private.
I didn't mind if it was made public.
There was virtually no chance the Tower's climbers would realize it was me.
‘Pandemonium,’ where I might be the only permanent resident.
Aside from meeting someone at the Exchange Gathering, there was almost no chance of encountering another player.
‘Light’s Sword had been hoping for this.’
Reaching the top of the score rankings.
Causing upheaval and confusion among the Tower's existing top-ranked climbers.
Light’s Sword wanted me to achieve something like that.
Light’s Sword had written as much on the gallery board and in the appendix to the Dragon-Slaying Sword Light’s Sword had given me.
The other Transcendents who had commented on the post felt the same way.
Still, I didn't want to use my real name.
What would be a suitable nickname?
After deliberating, I typed something short.
[Score registration complete.]
* * *
Hard difficulty, Floor 63.
Hard-Difficulty Tower Numbering #02
The Floor 63 waiting room sprawled across a vast landscape. It was nothing like a waiting room; it was more like a city.
The man with blond hair and silver armor had his head bowed, looking lost in thought.
“Alliance Chief.”
Alliance Chief.
Someone called out to the head of the Strategy Alliance, the most famous and most respected person in the current Climber Gallery.
Alliance Chief Targon raised his head in response to the raid captain Bellasia's words.
“What is it, Bellasia?”
Bellasia spoke urgently.
“Open the rankings window. Something strange has happened.”
“Something strange?”
Targon's brow furrowed.
Naturally, the rankings window was sorted from the newest floor to the oldest.
“I don't see anything unusual.”
Floors 50 through 62.
His nickname was in first place on every one. The entries from second through fifth were likewise the nicknames of his colleagues in the Strategy Alliance.
Bellasia slowly shook her head.
“Not by recency. Sort it by floor number.”
Targon's hand moved.
He immediately understood why Bellasia was making such an uncharacteristic fuss.
It was the score for the Floor 2 stage—the first stage for which scores were tallied.
That was the reason.
《 Floor 2 - Score Rankings 》
1st - Anonymous : 1,532 points NEW!
2nd - Alliance Chief : 784 points
3rd - In Pursuit : 583 points
4th - Sinclair : 575 points
5th - Argul : 572 points
⋮
The new first-place entry stood alone inside a golden border.
He had thought he might have to relinquish first place someday. The score on the Floor 2 stage itself didn't matter much to him.
The problem was the gap between his score and the new entry's.
‘…1,532?’
For one thing, the order of magnitude was different. It was in the thousands.
The score was nearly twice his.
How could someone get a score like that on Floor 2?
Bellasia's quiet words drifted into his ears.
“Could it be an error?”
Targon immediately responded.
“It can't be.”
Targon's words were full of conviction.
“You know the Tower doesn't make mistakes like this.”
Bellasia wiped away the sweat beading on her forehead and violet hair after rushing over.
“That may be true, but…is it possible? A score like that?”
Bellasia thought deeply.
‘Don’t tell me it’s a Pandemonium player…?’
Targon refuted Bellasia's words again.
“If this were a Pandemonium player, they would have been too busy just carrying out the mission. I suspect a score like that appears when someone clears a stage in an extremely short time or kills a great many monsters. Pandemonium is a place where both are difficult.”
Targon assumed that ‘Anonymous’ was an Easy- or Normal-difficulty player.
Regardless of whether the score came from a quick clear or killing many monsters, he was certain the player was on Easy or Normal.
He thought Hard was impossible because it was something he himself hadn't managed.
And he considered Pandemonium entirely out of the question.
After organizing his thoughts, Targon spoke.
“When March 1 arrives, send mail to the climbers below Floor 30. Tell them to report anyone nearby who might be this Anonymous player.”
“Okay, got it.”
Bellasia, having answered, quickened her pace.
Mail.
Mailboxes existed from Floor 5 onward, one on every floor of the Tower.
They were mailboxes that operated only once a month and accepted just one letter at a time.
Players considered them devices that provided the bare minimum information needed for survival before they reached Floor 30 and obtained the Climber Gallery.
After Bellasia had put some distance between herself and Alliance Chief Targon, she opened the <Climber Gallery>.
As expected, the Climber Gallery was in an uproar too.
It was about the same subject as the conversation she and Targon had shared.
Title : What the hell is the Floor 2 ranking score?
Author : Save Me
- Did everyone see it??
1st - Anonymous : 1,532 points
What is this?
└ LMAO, seriously, what is this?
└ What kind of monster is climbing up from Floor 2??
└ What kind of monster could there even be on Floor 2? They probably just got lucky and had a swarm of goblins appear on Easy mode or something.
└ Bullshit, even so. Even if they killed every goblin that appeared, would that really produce a four-digit score? There has to be something else.
└ It's still just Floor 2, though. Even if we chatter about it in the gallery, it's probably some newbie who doesn't even know this post exists. Why are you sitting around worrying about it?
└ That's because the score is so overwhelmingly high compared even to second-place Alliance Chief. It's almost twice as much, isn't it?
└ They'll be coming up soon. If that isn't luck and they really have the potential.
└ You guys don't remember how badly you tanked your own scores, and you're dismissing it just because it's Floor 2ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It really is damn strange, though.
Bellasia closed the Climber Gallery with an expressionless face.
It was far too strange to simply dismiss. But even so, it was only Floor 2. She couldn't shake that thought either.
Hard difficulty, Floor 63. She had encountered every kind of person imaginable on her way here.
She had seen countless people who were brave at first but had since lost their sharpness.
‘…That score is intriguing, at least.’
If someone was on Floor 2 now, there was a strong chance they were from ‘twenty-first-century Earth.’ Yet someone from there was already standing out like this.
‘They were all so weak, after all. They didn't even have magic or martial arts.’
Bellasia thought a little longer, then shook her head from side to side and shook off the thought.
* * *
After confirming that I occupied the very top of the Floor 2 score rankings, I opened the <Transcendent Gallery>.
I clicked the newest post, which also had the most comments.
Title : LOLㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ How the hell did you get a four-digit scoreㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Author : Pioneer
- But why did you choose that nickname? What's with Anonymous, Anonymous?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Anyway, I feel kind of proud, so let's take first place on Floor 3 too.
└ 1,532 I can't believe my eyes—I can't believe my eyes.
└ Second place, 784. The gap is overwhelmingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Insane.
└ Why are you proud?? If you had to find someone here who actually gets to be proud, is there anyone besides Light’s Sword?
└ Well, everyone tossed out tips and did their part, didn't they? I feel kind of proud too.
└ Of course you're proud, you idiot who can't even relateㅇㅇ Our ‘intervention’ succeeded. I was only lurking in the Climber Gallery, and then our climber took first place, so it feels like I managed to make my presence felt a littleㅇㅇ
└ Heavenly Demon) Ahem, I would like to give our climber my martial arts manual during our next interdimensional trade.
└ Shaman) I finished the talisman. 1,5322222-
└ Ice Queen) Freeze, freeze, freeze!! Come out! Climbeeer!
└ ㅇㅇ*) Yeah, I'm here.
After a brief silence, comments came pouring in.
└ Ice Queen) Freeze, tag—!
└ Kyaaaaaaa, you're here, King of Floor 2!
└ The Overlord of Floor 2 ㄷㄷㄷ
Being called the King of Floor 2 felt kind of lame.
└ Absolute Sovereign) Splendid. It reminds me of when I took first place.
└ ??? When did Absolute Sovereign ever take first place?
└ Absolute Sovereign) I did a few times at the beginning….
└ Great Mage) Good work. Two days until the Exchange Gathering, huh?
└ Light’s Sword) Well done. It's a little disappointing that you used ‘Anonymous,’ though.
└ Yeah, you bastard. You should've used the full name Han Yoo-seong.
└ Light’s Sword) For example, something like Heir of the Dragon-Slaying Sword.
└ Hmm, that might be a bit much.
└ The Transcendent Gallery's rising star, go go.
└ Great Mage) That's too lame.
As expected, I felt that choosing Anonymous had been the right decision.