episode_0009

3. First Tower (3)

By accompanying Mr. Dosik, I was able to learn more about the story of the tower and the current situation of Korean settlements.

” Charlotte said it’s only been a month since she came back? Then do you know someone named ‘Yoo Ji Sung’? ”

Yujiseong? It’s a name I’ve never seen before when looking for information.

But even though it was a familiar name, nothing else came to mind.

” It’s a familiar name, but I don’t think it’s the person you’re thinking of. ”

” That could be true. First of all, it can be said that most of the current Korean settlements were created thanks to that person. ”

” You seem like a pretty great person, huh? ”

” Then~ In fact, the ‘Blue House’, a settlement created by the government, is the center of the settlements, but the one who ultimately runs it is Yoo Ji-seong. ”

” What on earth did that guy do to get to that level? ”

” The first person in Korea to conquer the tower. ”

Mr. Dosik spoke calmly as he chopped down tree branches with the machete he had taken out from his waistband.

The weight of the word ‘first’ is not that light.

Especially in a situation where your peaceful daily life is falling apart, it is even more difficult to risk your life and do something.

” You’re the first to conquer the tower… That’s definitely worth it. ”

” Right? Thanks to that person, I now know how people conquer the tower and what rewards they get for conquering the tower. ”

” What is the reward from the top? ”

” If you conquer the tower, you will receive a reward. Well, usually there are equipment such as weapons or armor.

There are also times when something called an ‘artifact’ with a very rare probability comes out with a special effect ”

If you conquer the tower, you get a reward. This is also a cliché, if anything, a cliché story.

” But that’s not all? ”

” You’re quick-witted! Yeah, and besides that, rewards are given to everyone in the world or in the country.

In particular, the device called Watch was such a reward, and so was the system like the Internet. ”

” Yes, I know what you mean. ”

That must be the story of other gods helping, as the goddess Patruna said.

When you conquer a tower, you are talking about tools or systems that provide convenience to everyone.

” So you’re saying that because that guy named Yuji Seong conquered the tower, people were provided with at least the ability to communicate with each other and the tools necessary for living? ”

” Yeah, I guess this time they’re planning to join hands with various settlements and attack the tower in Namsan. ”

” The tower on Namsan? Why? Is there a reason to go there? ”

” It’s currently the oldest tower in Seoul. And it’s also necessary for the upcoming ‘Seoul Restoration’ plan. ”

” What is the Seoul restoration plan? ”

” Right now, only the settlements connected to the Blue House can come and go.

They say it’s too difficult to move to other areas because of the outlaws and towers.

The plan is to first stabilize the central area and then slowly move outward.

So, we are trying to conquer the most dangerous tower in Namsan. ”

” Would you mind telling me something so important? ”

Isn’t that right? The ‘Seoul Restoration’ plan that we just heard about is obviously information that only the people above the settlement should know.

It was incomprehensible that he would reveal that to an outsider like me.

” Anyway, it’s going to be announced soon.

The old man has a pretty good sense,

Somehow, I feel like Charlotte, you’ll definitely do something great. Haha! ”

After that, I started hearing stories about the settlement and the month I spent there.

A structure began to appear before my eyes, towering high into the sky, piercing the clouds.

” That’s the tower! ”

I ran out with a strange feeling of excitement rising in my chest.

” Huh? Huh! Charlotte! It’s dangerous to run like that! ”

Of course, Mr. Dosik, who said that, also quickly ran behind me.

*****

What I felt when I stood in front of the tower was that it was ‘huge’.

No, really, it was so big that I had to tilt my head back and look at it for a long time before I could see the end.

It seemed to be almost 60 stories tall.

‘When will I ever get to climb all that? Or is it even okay to climb it? Are there areas that I can skip or something?’

” Oh my, whoa, those feet are really fast…! ”

Panting, Mr. Dosik approached me.

” Is this where the safety camp that the old man mentioned was set up? ”

Then he looked around for a moment,

” No, I think it’s the opposite direction. ”

” Hmm, but do I have to climb all of those towers? ”

” Well, I’m not sure about that. ”

” Huh? You didn’t come here to conquer the tower? Then I thought you knew a lot about the tower…? ”

Then the old man scratched his head

” Of course I came here with the intention of conquering, but what I’m trying to say is for a slightly different reason.

Even though each tower looks tall, once you go inside, the number of floors is different.

Rather, there are cases where it goes underground, and if you look at the clock shape there, you can see that it is pointing to 1 o’clock, so you can tell that it is not that old.

That’s why we can tell that the demons coming out of the tower will only be of a lower level. ”

” Is that so? But there’s no guarantee that it will be like that, right? ”

I tilted my head and asked him

” Well, you could think of it that way.

But since the person I mentioned earlier named ‘Yu Ji-seong’ conquered the tower, dozens of towers have been conquered until now.

It seems that the difficulty level of this trick varies depending on how much the clock-shaped hand points to.

Of course, the same goes for the demons roaming the surrounding wastelands ”

At that moment, I had an inexplicable question.

The old man clearly said that the difficulty level varies depending on where the clock-shaped hour hand on the tower points.

I don’t know to what extent, but it is true that only the lower classes are coming out now, at exactly 1 o’clock.

Then why did a ‘Giant Orc’, which is said to be strong among mid-level rather than low-level ones, appear in the safety camp where the old man and his team were?

” Wait a minute. That doesn’t make sense. This tower is apparently new, so only the lower levels come out.

Then, the surrounding area would be the same, so why did the intermediate ‘Giant Oak’ appear? ”

” Well, maybe it’s because of the commotion caused by the building collapsing? ”

” But then the lower-level demons should move. The ones who actually move are the middle-level ones, right? ”

To my question, the old man touched the beard on his chin and looked serious.

” Hmm, that’s definitely weird. I’ve also cleared three towers.

I didn’t really have any stories like this with the people I worked with or met while traveling around the settlement…”

” That’s not a very good story. The rules of the tower have changed or something… ”

” Or not? ”

” I think someone must have lured them artificially or used other means. ”

When I said that, the old man opened his eyes wide

” Who the hell would do something like that? What could they possibly gain from it…?! ”

If I knew that, would I be doing this now?

From the moment I first came out into this world after returning, I felt like I was caught up in a whirlwind of some great incident.

” Well, you know what? What was it? ‘The Obelisk’? Could it be the work of some crazy group that worships the tower? ”

” Those guys? Well, if it’s them, they’ll do whatever it takes to protect the tower… Those damn guys!!! ”

I was startled by the sudden shout and shook my shoulders.

‘Seeing you suddenly get so angry, I guess something happened…’

Coughing slightly to change the mood

” Ahem, well. I’m saying that might be the case. ”

” Sorry, we had a bit of a conflict earlier. ”

” It’s okay. If this isn’t where we set up camp, I think it would be better to just go to the settlement as is. ”

” Yeah, I guess that’s a good idea for now. ”

Leaving the tower behind, which I had never seen before, I followed the old man in front and walked towards the settlement.

*****

Side up ponytail with long brown hair curled up high

A girl who looks like she just became an adult, wearing a black leather jacket, skinny jeans, and leather but with steel reinforcements on each part of her body.

‘Kang Ara’ gasped for breath, placed her hands on her knees, and opened her mouth to address her teammates.

” Haa, haa, is everyone okay? ”

Following Uncle Du-sik’s words, we had no choice but to split up into two groups, me and Uncle Chunsik, the unit leader, and we each took charge of two orcs.

To be honest, since it was my first time meeting a monster, my body still couldn’t stop shaking.

However, as the daughter of a father who leads people and the most powerful person here, she tried her best to hide her trembling and looked at her exhausted team members.

” No problem. ”

” I think it would be okay to take a short break. ”

Watching team members drinking water from water bottles on their waists or taking off their hats to fan themselves,

First, create a wall out of the ground so that the orcs won’t notice and make it collapse after a certain amount of time.

I took refuge for a moment in the ruined building where I had arranged to meet my uncle Chunshik.

” Welcome! Are you hurt anywhere? ”

Looking at Uncle Chunshik who is worried about me

” It’s okay. Even though I look like this, you know I’m strong, right? ”

” Well then, that’s fortunate. ”

” I guess so? But I’m worried that Uncle Doosik might have escaped safely… ”

” If it’s that guy, he’s pretty good at surviving, right? You don’t have to worry too much. ”

” That would be great. ”

Ara thinks that if she had moved quickly, Uncle Dusik wouldn’t have had to drag so many orcs.

But soon I shook my head, thinking that he must have run away well.

” Let’s go back to the settlement for now. We’re almost there anyway, and Brother Dosik will know how to get to the settlement. ”

” Okay. It won’t take long to get to the settlement, so let’s stay a little longer and move quickly. ”

Hopefully you won’t get caught by orcs or outlaws on your way to the settlement.

Ara had no choice but to look out the window.

*****

But as the saying goes, life doesn’t always go the way you want it to.

Ara prayed that she would not be attacked on her way to the settlement, but instead, it seemed like that thought was stacking up flags.

I met a group of outlaws. Especially the group I hate the most.

” Phew~ Why are all these gloomy old men gathered around a pretty girl? ”

” That’s right. Hehe, let’s hurry up and take that girl, shall we? ”

They had the image of a ‘falcon’, the symbol of the Falcon Gang, tattooed on their shoulders.

Ara felt hot in her head as soon as she saw the symbol, but she couldn’t move rashly, so she gritted her teeth and waited for her chance.

” Hey, Miss, why are you staring at me like that? Don’t worry, you’ll be having a good time soon? Heh heh… ”

The other team members also became angry at the actions of the leader, who was looking down at Ara’s body from top to bottom and then up again while reciting old lines.

” Those damn guys..! ”

The moment one of the team members shouted, the person who shouted fell down with a ‘bang’ sound.

” Ugh… ”

” Hey, Mr. Kim…! ”

In the hand of the outlaw who seemed to be the leader of the gang, looking at the fallen man, was a smoking pistol.

” Hey, hey, don’t be so angry~ You shot it in the heat of the moment?! Hahahahaha! ”

The moment when Ara, unable to bear it any longer, stretches her magical power to the ground to attack the outlaws!

A strong wind blew with a ‘whooshing’ sound, and I felt a chill for some reason.

” Are you okay? ”

The outlaws lost consciousness as they were overpowered by something invisible, along with a loud ‘thud’ sound.

And ice lion statues were carrying the fallen outlaws to one place.

” Huh?! ”

Ara was frightened by the sudden appearance of a strong man, but the man smiled broadly and the woman approached him while touching the ice lion statue next to him.

” Ah! You don’t have to be so cautious. We came here on a request from the leader of the Mokdong settlement, Elder Kang Han-cheol.

Yeonseo, could you please take out the ‘request form’ from your bag? ”

As the man reached out his hand to the woman who was touching the lion statue,

” Yeah, here it is. ”

The woman who took out the letter of request in a dry tone handed it to the man and gathered the fallen outlaws around the statue.

” Here you go! ”

The man who smiled faintly had a rather pleasant face.

Ara and Chunsik quickly checked the request and felt relieved.

” Yes, I checked. ‘Mr. Kang Hyun-seok, Ms. Seo Yeon-seo’ Thank you for your help. ”

So Ara and her teammates were with two men and women who suddenly appeared.

They walked towards the settlement, carrying the fallen outlaws on ice statues.