Chapter 18
The Floor -4 kitchen was back to normal.
The food the Constellations had been sucking dry was returned to the lower floors,
and every single person in the Tower received the same notification at once.
====
[The food shortage has been alleviated by the Basement Administrator.]
[The ‘Tower Merchant’ has appeared.]
[‘Stairway City’ has opened.]
[The ‘Miniature Labyrinth’ has been unlocked.]
[Have a pleasant climb.]
====
An announcement about new Tower content I'd never seen before.
And information about places I'd never heard of.
“The Basement Administrator has really done something.”
“Indeed. At last, a new order is taking shape.”
“Ah... I can foresee the chaos to come.”
“Whether this marks the beginning of a new age or the persistence of the old one... We shall have to wait and see.”
The Floor Masters, who had been thought to be NPC administrators of the Tower, also each had something to say.
They all spoke of the Basement Administrator,
and then climbers began pouring out accounts of the newly added Tower facilities.
====
Title: The Tower Merchant Is Freaking Amazing
Posted by: SeeingIsBelieving
The Tower Merchant sells rare recovery items like crazy.
They even buy random junk, so it's great for clearing out your bag.
They'll even buy the junk I used to throw away because I thought it was useless.
Thanks to the Basement Administrator, I got to clear out my bag.
What a steal, lol.
[Comments]
└For real???
└Where can you find them?
└Seems like they only show up above Floor 20.
====
The Babel Tower Gallery was suddenly abuzz with a new topic.
Even people who didn't usually use the gallery came flocking in, investigating the Tower Merchant, Stairway City, and the Miniature Labyrinth.
====
Title: You Can Enter Stairway City After Clearing Floor 20
Posted by: NewYorkPeople
Just like the title says.
Clear Floor 20 and you can enter Stairway City.
It's so amazing, you could almost think this is the Tower's true heart.
It's a gigantic city built for climbers. You can rest there, and there are tons of restaurants.
You don't have to worry about food in the Tower anymore.
You don't have to bring crappy rations and choke them down, either.
The buffs from the hot springs and saunas are insane, and they're cheap, too.
Just come and see for yourself.
And even though I used to think the Basement Administrator was a troll because of all the trouble they caused in the gallery...
the merchants in Stairway City spent the whole day praising the Basement Administrator.
I'm praising them right along with everyone else now.
Long live the Basement Administrator!
====
Public opinion skyrocketed!
Most climbers were moved by the Basement Administrator's generosity, even though they had usually known the Administrator only as a troublemaker in the Babel Gallery.
Even people who had given up climbing the Tower started coming back, one after another.
The Tower had entered a new golden age, thanks to the returning climbers.
====
Title: The Miniature Labyrinth's Growth Efficiency Is Insane!!!
Posted by: HungryPig
Buy an entry pass to the Miniature Labyrinth from the Tower Merchant and head inside.
It's not even comparable to leveling up in the Tower.
It's a dungeon for up to four people, and you can choose the difficulty.
The leveling speed is ridiculous, and the rewards are substantial, too.
Plus, you need the currency you get from clearing the Miniature Labyrinth to enjoy a comfortable stay in Stairway City.
In conclusion:
The basement is God,
and the Administrator is invincible.
====
Sell items to the Tower Merchant and buy an entry pass to the Miniature Labyrinth.
Enter the Miniature Labyrinth and earn a pile of ‘coins,’ the currency of Stairway City.
Then head to Stairway City to relax or enjoy its various facilities.
The Tower's economy was back in motion!
All thanks to the basement's blessing.
It was an achievement the Basement Administrator had earned by restoring the Floor -4 kitchen to working order.
“Long live the Basement Administrator!”
“Unbelievable! I can't believe I can eat food this delicious in the Tower.”
“Enjoying the sauna and hot springs together makes your skin look years younger!”
Stairway City satisfied people of every age and gender.
The Basement Administrator's fame and reputation soared without end.
Then a post appeared.
====
Title: Recruiting Underlings
Posted by: BasementAdministrator2088
I'm recruiting people to be my underlings!
There are all kinds of benefits!
Please show lots of interest!
If nobody's interested... I might be a little disappointed...
====
Unaware of the situation, Cheonwoo wrote a recruitment post after receiving the underling-recruitment quest while browsing the Constellation Gallery...
====
└Me! Me! Me! Me! Me!
└Administrator, I've always admired you.
└You used to do nothing but curse the Administrator. Look at you changing your tune.
└I'm getting on the Administrator bandwagon, too.
└Everyone except Koreans, get out.
└I'm American, but I'm ready to abandon my homeland at any time.
====
Only now did the climbers truly realize
just how incredible the Basement Administrator was.
The seekers chosen by Constellations had climbed the Tower with better gear and in better conditions than everyone else.
Perhaps this was another opportunity given to those who hadn't been chosen.
With that in mind, it was only natural that the comments on the underling-recruitment post exploded.
******
What?! There are way too many comments!
There's no way I can read them all...
“The comments go up by the hundreds every time I refresh... No way. I didn't even spam the post, and I'm getting this much attention. I knew everyone liked me!”
Am I really this popular?
Well, it's not like there's any reason not to praise me.
I even got the Tower back in order.
And I fixed the gallery's rampant racism by threatening to spam it with grandma pictures.
This must be the result of living a good life.
Everyone finally recognized all my hard work!
“Mm-hmm. Wonderful. I wish everyone would respond like this all the time.”
Some people were begging me to make them my underlings,
while others were asking what the benefits were.
There were plenty of mindless praise posts, too.
No, seriously, did they get some kind of order to come here or something?
“But what kind of benefits should I offer my underlings?”
====
Title: Benefits for Underlings
Posted by: BasementAdministrator2088
First, I'll lend you one book from the library.
And I'll give you a pass to use the city.
Also... Hmm.
You can hang out with me in the basement once in a while!
[Comments]
└SnailCookingClass: Hang out together in the basement? That's a little...
└I Like Tonics: This sounds like a little kid wrote it, lol.
└Nguyen23: Me! Pick me!
└UncleBrownBear: Is that ‘one book from the library’ a grimoire? Holy crap.
└LetsDoIt: Korea's future lies underground.
└GuangzhouHomeless: Why wasn't I born Korean...?
====
Good, that's the benefits explained.
Looks like I can pick as many underlings as the number of floors I've cleared.
I've made it down to Floor -4, so I can pick up to four people.
Then the question is, what criteria should I use to choose my underlings?
“First, let's check all their post-to-comment ratios.”
There's an old saying that if you want to weed out the crazies online, you should check their post-to-comment ratio.
People even say you can filter out half the nutjobs just by doing that.
It's like a maxim passed down by our ancestors.
So, what is a post-to-comment ratio?
It means the ratio between a user's posts and comments.
A ratio of one post to three comments is about right.
People who leave lots of comments on other people's posts are generally thought to be kind and altruistic, right?
“Whoa. You're out.”
====
[HunterWhoStaresAtTheWall]
Posts: 7,261
Comments: 22
====
You made 7,261 posts, but only left 22 comments? What the hell is this guy?!
That's basically talking to a wall all by yourself.
Is he some lunatic who treats everyone else like a wall?
There's no way this is a normal person!
He's obviously halfway to becoming an anomaly!
“Huh?”
Wait a second.
Now that I think about it...
Isn't that exactly like me?!
Come to think of it, I haven't left many comments so far.
I've just been saying whatever I wanted this whole time...
Well, still, I'm not a nutjob.
I'm just a young man who likes spamming posts.
Or am I...?
Spamming a message board is something only a nutjob would do, isn't it...?
“Huff... Huff... That's horrifying. The truth is hard to bear.”
It feels like I just took the red pill about myself without even realizing it.
What the hell am I...?
“At least I need to pick normal people as my underlings...!”
Let's set aside the fact that I'm the worst troll on the gallery, with an absolutely godawful post-to-comment ratio.
Finding normal underlings is the priority right now.
“This person should be my first pick.”
Most of their comments were either sharing information or leaving kind words of praise.
Most of their posts were about their family and kids.
And, most importantly, they're a worker who came to Korea on a visa.
They seem to have a very positive outlook on life.
=====
[MyHometownPakistan]
Posts: 321
Comments: 2,245
====
Okay, you're in.
If they ever decide to go back home, I can take away their privileges. They'll listen if they need to support their family!
=====
└BasementAdministrator2088: Hey, check your guestbook.
└MyHometownPakistan: ????????
└MyHometownPakistan: Is this real?
└MyHometownPakistan: I love you, Administrator! I pledge my loyalty!
====
That should shatter the assumption that I'm only going to pick Koreans,
and then I can issue them a quest and officially make them an underling.
“Next up...”
After Mr. Pakistan got picked, a whole bunch of foreign climbers suddenly started emphasizing that they lived in Korea.
Yeah. No.
It's way too late to try that now.
This time, I'm picking a Korean.
“Next up should be Hyeji.”
My friend Hyeji.
I checked the Employee Register and found out she'd soloed the Floor 20 boss, King Snail....
?????! Wait
By herself? How?
Why the hell is she so strong!!!
She soloed the Floor 20 boss?
Parties are recommended starting at Floor 11, aren't they? Is this girl insane?
“How is a martial artist with a grimoire equipped in her armor slot doing so well? What's her ceiling?”
How high can she climb?
She seems to be climbing faster than anyone else I've seen so far.
She's twice as fast as Kang Haesol, the famous number-three-ranked Hunter in South Korea!
At this rate, she's going to run into the Korean advance team soon.
It feels like only yesterday I was calling Lee Hyeji a stupid dummy, but it turns out she wasn't just stupid—she was a strong stupid dummy!
******
Tower of Trials, Floor 20.
Swamp Zone, Boss Room.
King Snail's Nest.
“Wow...”
After clearing Floor 20 all by herself, Lee Hyeji entered Stairway City before heading up to Floor 21.
The sky was so high and the crowds so vast that it was hard to believe she was inside the Tower.
As people from all over the world marveled at the city's abundance,
a quest appeared before her.
====
[Your Goal!]
Hey, be my underling.
[Reward!]
Free City Pass
====
“What is this? Why would I? We're friends! Friends don't have underlings. Do you not know that, you dummy, Ji Cheonwoo?”
Lee Hyeji immediately protested at being told to become an underling.
She hadn't given it much thought.
She was just afraid that she and Cheonwoo wouldn't be friends anymore.
====
[Your Goal!]
Ugh, just do it already.
If you become my underling, I'll give you a free City Pass.
You get free food.
[Reward!]
Free City Pass
====
“What? Really? You're buying me food? Geez~ You should've said that first. A good friend who buys me food! I'll be your underling!”
When she heard she'd get free food, Lee Hyeji immediately accepted the position of underling.
A golden card appeared in Lee Hyeji's hand.
It looked much heavier, shinier, and more powerful than her mom's card.
====
[Administrator's Golden Card]
Enjoy every facility as much as you want~
Spend your life on pleasure and entertainment!
====
“...Whoa..! Cheonwoo! Thanks! Mwah!”
A free pass to Stairway City.
An underling's first benefit.
In Stairway City, the Administrator's Golden Card was a symbol of absolute power.
And the first thing Lee Hyeji did with this precious, amazing card was...
“Mister! One chicken skewer, please!”
Raiding a street-food stall.
A truly modest and humble way to spend it.
******
Anyway, Hyeji really does love free food.
Look at her jumping at the chance just because I said I'd buy her a meal.
I'm worried she'll get tricked by some bad people one of these days.
In any case, my underling lineup is pretty intimidating.
A foreign worker who's sworn loyalty to me, and my friend Hyeji.
Who should I fill the next spot with?
I've still got two spots left...
I don't see anyone I particularly like.
====
[A climber has completed a quest!]
[Underling bonus activated!]
[You have received 200 points in commission!]
====
“What!?”
Two hundred points!?
A bottle of almond water costs 100 points.
Two hundred points is Popo's food budget for two years!
Normally, a quest with such easy completion conditions wouldn't even give me ten points.
The reward's almost twenty times higher.
This is amazing!
So that's why the Tower specifically wanted me to make climbers into underlings.
I can use this to hire more entities,
and stop the Constellations' Apostles from coming down in the future. Is that the Tower's grand plan...!?
Ahh, Father Tower.
Just how much are you going to give me?
“I understand. I understand the Tower's true intent.”
It means I should bring back the entities who were fired.
With this much support, how could I not become an entity hoarder?!