Chapter 13: The Tower of Destruction (3)

On the paper that bowl-cut gave me, there was a map of the first and second floors.

Referring to the map of the first floor, I returned to the center.

At first, I thought the central road was just a random path, but surprisingly, the map of this half-crumbled village was quite accurate.

Following the winding dirt road, which could barely be called a path, I found a door.

It wasn’t too big or too small, just an awkward size.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed very unfamiliar, something that didn’t feel quite Korean either.

-What are you going to do about the Silver Lightning Gang?”

“Hmm. I haven’t really thought about it.”

I said I’d handle it, but honestly, I don’t feel like searching for them and stirring things up.

Anyway, I’ve already killed those three, so there will be some kind of reaction.

No, actually, if it’s a criminal group like that, they wouldn’t have just sent lackeys in the first place.

Didn’t they say it was a kidnapping?

They’re probably planning to send more people to kidnap me.

Some of them must be fairly skilled.

-So you’re saying they might come after you on their own.

“Yes, they seem to be looking for something profitable.”

In the end, they’ll attempt the kidnapping.

And what if I break the heads of the Silver Lightning Gang?

Naturally, I’ll become their target.

That’s when I’ll catch them all.

For now, I’m focusing on clearing the tower.

I opened the door and climbed up the spiral staircase for a long time.

Suddenly, with a bright light, a space appeared that looked like a haunted house.

Fewer monsters were visible here compared to the first floor.

Since they said the tower was cleared up to the third floor, it makes sense that there would be fewer monsters as I go higher.

“Slimes and skeletons? That’s an odd combination.”

The residents of the second floor were undead monsters like skeletons and slimes.

Somehow, they seemed to be of lower quality compared to the first floor.

The skeletons didn’t even feel satisfying to hit.

Their durability was even worse.

What’s scary about skeletons is just the fact that they move, creating a sense of fear.

There are fools who get scared and die from the rusty weapons they swing.

But if you stay calm and fight, they’re just regular skeletons.

Skeletons that even vigilantes could take down.

Of course, there are some skeletons wearing heavy armor with red flames flickering in their eyeless sockets, but that’s about it.

“Skeletons are kind of pointless.”

-I never thought our holy warrior would be afraid of those.

“It’s not about fear. There’s just no satisfying feeling of breaking them.”

And what about slimes?

Slimes, by their nature, don’t feel satisfying to hit either.

It’s like hitting water.

It feels like smashing a water jar.

The rewards from slimes and skeletons are also pitiful.

Skeletons are just corpses, so there’s nothing to loot, and as for slimes, the best you can get is slime liquid, which is useless unless for research purposes.

I’m not sure if anyone in this world even researches slime liquid.

Or maybe this place has already been cleared, and that’s why the monsters are weaker?

I turned on my smartphone and searched for ‘Tower of Doom 2nd Floor’ on WTube.

Watching some of the videos, I saw many skeletons in armor.

The hunters were fighting skeletons that had a proper military structure.

Famous hunters battling skeleton knights, one of the top-tier monsters in the skeleton series, in an epic fight.

Defeating them and earning various items!

[“Look at this, guys! I was so scared! Scared? Your unmade-up face is scarier! Hey! You’re banned!”]

A woman stomped on a skeleton knight and ranted at the viewers.

This isn’t fake.

If I don’t see a single skeleton knight here, maybe that’s normal.

-According to that document, some well-known hunters have already been here, so it’s not surprising this place isn’t fully intact.

“Sweetie, look at those skeletons. So scary.”

“I’m scared too. Boohoo.”

Annoyingly, there was a couple walking around the second floor, too.

It looked like they were on some haunted house date, holding onto each other tightly.

For a moment, I had the urge to pull out my mace.

Even though I’ve never thought about dating, seeing that just makes me feel gross.

“Shall we just go straight to the third floor?”

-There seems to be some kind of camp over there.

“A camp? Oh.”

In the distance, I saw something that looked like a camp, maybe some tents or a container box.

Looking at the barricades around it, it was clearly set up by people.

No wonder the monsters here are like this.

I wanted to just walk around the barricades, but they were completely surrounding the area, especially right in front of the door that seemed to lead to the third floor.

There was no choice. I had to pass through.

As I broke some skeletons and approached the barricade, a large man stood there.

“An awakened one?”

At first, I thought he was an orc, but upon closer inspection, he was just a big man.

Was he playing the role of a gatekeeper?

“What guild are you from, miss?”

The man asked me that.

Something seems off with his hair.

Up close, it looked like he’d sprinkled some odd black powder on it.

I strongly feel the urge to recommend a hair transplant.

“I’m alone, actually.”

“Judging by your outfit, are you a nun? Or, wait, is that a nun cosplay?”

Excuse me?

He’s treating me like some random nun—no, a cosplay nun?

Should I just go ahead and recommend that hair transplant?

“That’s disappointing. It’s not a nun cosplay. I’m a saintess.”

Has he never seen a saintess before?

The man with the lacking hair gave me a long, hard look up and down.

His gaze was annoyingly disrespectful.

“Hmm… well, I guess if it’s just skeletons and slimes, maybe someone like you could manage. Did you happen to get an entrance ticket by luck or something?”

This guy is judging me solely on appearances.

“Not exactly. I’m here to spread the word of the gods.”

“Haha, you say the funniest things.”

Wow, does he really not believe me?

Looking inside, it seemed like most of the people here were combatants.

“Is this where all the guild hunters are gathering?”

“More or less, yeah. And people who are close with them.”

Ah, so connections matter in every era.

It looked like the guild members had brought along their entire extended families.

Should I have brought along some pickled kimchi, fish, and whatnot too?

Now that I think about it, didn’t that cheating elf who left his wife behind invite me to join him?

If any guild hunters start acting bossy toward me today, I’ll just bring in the returnees.

But back to the present—why haven’t the hunters gone up to the third floor yet?

“So, what’s everyone doing? Why aren’t they heading up to the third floor?”

“They’re waiting to team up and go together. Not everyone’s here yet.”

Teaming up?

“What’s up there on the third floor?”

“We don’t know.”

They don’t know, and yet they’re all standing around like this?

“Are they all just scared?”

“Ha, miss, you really don’t know much, do you? Up until now, people have been hogging all the items for themselves. So, now they’re forming a coalition to share the loot more evenly.”

Ah, I see.

So, it’s because until now, the strongest people took everything, but now they want to form an alliance to share the spoils with the weaker ones.

Well, here’s what I think about that:

“Oh, I get it. This must be one of those socialist, communist setups I’ve heard about.”

“That’s communism!”

So, it’s a clash between liberalism and socialism, huh?

“Whatever. Can I just pass through?”

“To where?”

I pointed my finger toward the ceiling.

“I’m thinking of heading to the third floor.”

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but you’re seriously underestimating this. Aren’t you here to spread the word of the gods?”

Of course, I am.

This guy seems to have the wrong idea.

“I intend to deliver that message to the monsters.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Yeah, so if you’ll excuse me.”

I’m on a tight schedule.

But before I could leave, this guy grabbed my wrist.

“Wait, hold on. What are you even talking about? Are you out of your mind?”

“Huh, what the…”

“Listen, I don’t care if you go up there to die or not, but at least check out the situation first.”

“Situation?”

“Yeah.”

Ugh, how annoying.

But judging by his reaction, if I just charge up to the third floor, this guy might end up in trouble.

That would be a bit unfair to him.

-It’s not a bad idea. Moving on your own would be better after gathering some intel about that guild, don’t you think?

“The goddess told me to take a look around first, so I’ll listen to that.”

“A goddess? Are you in a cult or something?”

“Wow, you’re seriously rude. Are you a virgin bachelor or something?”

My mace was calling out to me from my sleeve.

But this guy was different from the goldfish, bald guy, spinster, and the other extras I’d met before.

He protested indignantly,

“I’ve got a wife!”

“If you say so. Sure.”

“I’ve got two wives! That’s why I’m out here making money! I’ve got kids, too!”

“Oh… well, good luck with that.”

If he’s the head of a family, I guess I can respect that.

I decided not to pull out my mace.

Fathers are important figures.

That’s the way of things.

One demon I fought even begged me to spare his children before he willingly took a blow from my mace.

-That was touching, I admit. Though in the end, you killed them all anyway.
Well, the ones who need to die must die. Demons, after all, are expendable.

-But it wasn’t just demons you killed, you’ve also killed angels.

Hey, anyone who crosses me—be they demons, angels, humans, or even a Demon Lord—is treated equally.

If they have to die, then so be it.

“Anyway, let’s check out how many people are inside. Lead the way.”

“Wait, why me?”

“Because you have a wife and kids, which means you won’t mess with me. Or are you really going to refuse a heartfelt request from a saintess your daughter’s age?”

I mean, I could ask the women, but that’d be a bit awkward.

“Oh, what’s that over there? It’s not another container box, is it?”

“Are you from the countryside or something? That’s a mobile hunter camp, used by the richer guilds.”

Ah, so that’s what it is.

Looking closer, it did seem pretty sophisticated.

“Is that some kind of item that spawns the camp when used?”

“Yeah. If you’re broke, you’re stuck with containers, and I hear there’s a rental fee for those too.”

In one corner, I noticed several container boxes, and some vendors had set up shop displaying various wares.

“They’ve even got vendors?”

“Most of them are guild-affiliated, but I wouldn’t recommend dealing with them. They rip off anyone outside their own guild.”

“Interesting.”

There were all sorts of mobile camps set up with different insignias painted on them—probably guild emblems.

It’s a shame the Seolhwa Guild wasn’t here.

So, only the capable guilds made it this far?

As for the container-based guilds, they probably showed up hoping for some scraps.

“Come to think of it, container guilds might actually have it better in some ways, huh?”

“Ahem.”

“Are you one of them?”

From the looks of it, he seemed like a hunter from a small guild just hoping for some leftovers, guarding the barricade.

“No, I’m solo.”

“And yet you’ve been lecturing me? Wow.”

This guy has been saying all that to me while being solo himself?

The hypocrisy!