episode_0060

Ding!

◎ Unregistered user.

◎ Identified as an abnormal root climber.

◎ Shall we begin identification?

A blue square.

The words written there.

Startled by the sudden change that appeared when touching the gate, I took a step back.

“…Is this a system?”

I quickly grasped the situation.

Since the information of the 0th floor Discards was stored here, it was easy to realize that this was the system of the Tower.

But to identify… does that mean they can register me as a system climber?

I looked back at the blue window.

[Approve/Cancel]

The silent window was waiting for a response.

It doesn’t seem like I’m being forced, so there doesn’t seem to be a big problem…

It’s an unexpected situation, so I hesitate.

Suddenly, now there’s a system, if I accept it, what will happen to me?

I organized the situation.

The stele reads “1st Floor Corellia Gate.”

The stele can register me as a Tower climber.

What should I do in this situation?

…I need advice.

*

“Did you really go to the 1st floor?”

“It seemed like we found the gate, and it said 1st floor, and it seemed like we could register as climbers.”

The counselor is Shaela.

As soon as I returned to my elf body, I explained the situation and discussed what to do.

However.

“What’s this? Having fun by yourself?”

A slightly teasing response.

“It’s not for fun. I want to investigate the Tower’s trends and explore.”

“Hmph. Investigating that is fine, but don’t neglect the village here. What’s important is not the exploration, but the village here.”

“You don’t have to say it. My main body is always here. I’ll always be able to feel you and come back and forth like now. I’ll answer when you call, and I’ll eat here when you’re tired. I’ll let you know what happened every time.”

Heh…

“Alright, alright. Have fun~ Come back anytime.”

Did she like the response?

Shaela became slightly sentimental.

Back to the main topic.

“Anyway, it seems like we can become climbers at the 1st floor gate. What would you do if you were me? No, do you know about the system?”

“I know a bit. I climbed the Tower too.”

“Huh? You climbed the Tower too?”

“I was a climber. The system disappeared after I died and came back to life.”

“I want to hear more about it.”

“Then~ sit here.”

Shaela gestured to the side.

I sat on the edge of the bed.

“It’s been quite a while since I climbed the Tower…”

I listened to the story.

Surprisingly, Shaela was also an abnormal route climber.

She secretly entered the Tower to investigate with the power of the World Tree and even went through identification… Originally, it was for preventing omissions, and there were no major problems.

Thus, Shaela climbed to the higher floors in a few weeks, met the high floor gods, and then invaded their world. As you know, she was captured and became an experimental subject, leading to our meeting.

At this point, one question arose.

I heard that the system has an information window that quantifies the strength of climbers.

Then, Shaela?

“By any chance, what level were you?”

“Level? I was 999.”

“Huh…”

“But it’s meaningless~ The higher the level, the harder it is to evaluate. When you reach my level, it’s just playing with numbers. Even if there’s a level above 999, it’s impossible to know who would win in a fight between 1000 and 3000. Assuming that the higher level is not just a fake.”

It’s a somewhat shocking explanation.

A state unaffected by levels.

The real strong ones are those who have fought without knowing.

To put it bluntly, they are closer to gods or divine beings, probably the upper echelons of the rulers.

Shaela is also one of those beings.

The more I know, the more Shaela’s value rises.

It’s not a bad feeling.

Because she’s an ally.

Rather than that…

If I become a climber, I’ll be able to see the information window.

“I wonder what level I am.”

“You? Hmm… If it’s your clone, it’s probably around level 300-400.”

“You’ll see when you look. Since I knew there was no problem becoming a climber, I thought I’d check it out.”

“Oh? Then the clone will be registered separately in the system from the main body?”

“That’s… an unexpected matter. The clone is my body, but it’s a completely separate entity. How will the system judge this?”

“I guess I have to check it now.”

“Then I’ll climb the tower.”

“Of course. I have to climb it. If the landfill has changed like this because of a high-level existence, it’s good to keep an eye on the trends upstairs.”

“Then are you going to break the trial?”

“Trial?”

“To climb the tower, you have to go through a joke-like trial. Making climbers fight each other, or even creating a world and throwing them in.”

“Creating a world?”

“Probably. It seems like reconstructing a specific event at a specific time, but I don’t know well. I just found it fascinating and moved on. Maybe that nobleman you mentioned, Inishal, knows about it?”

“I can’t quite grasp it.”

“You’ll understand when you see the system. You can check the quests given by the administrators through it. Once you break through, you can climb the tower. Experience it first and come back. Even if it seems unsolvable, come to me. It shouldn’t be too dangerous in the lower levels, but be careful.”

“Okay. Thanks for the concern.”

“Huh? Concern? It’s just advice, isn’t it?”

“…Whatever. I’ll be back.”

“Oh! You shouldn’t listen to bad guys in the tower?”

“It’s a concern…”

“It’s advice. Just remember it. I’ll take care of the main body for now.”

“I didn’t ask you to…?”

The brief conversation helped clear my mind. To investigate the tower, I needed the system, and I was a clone there. There was no need to be too cautious.

Therefore.

*

Whish~

I returned to the first floor in human form. Without delay, I clicked ‘approve’ on the square window that appeared in front of the gate.

Tock.

Ding!

◎︎ Initiating identification.

◎︎ Please provide your username.

With the notification sound, the message changed. They asked for a name… I quickly thought of one that came to mind.

“Rios.”

I borrowed the three letters from Swallios. The tone was quite decent.

◎︎ Identification complete.

◎︎ Checking status.

◎︎ Please accept the identification.

Whoo~

A wave of blue light stuck to the clone’s body from the gate. I stood still and waited. For some reason, it felt familiar.

Ding~

◎︎ Identification complete.

◎︎ Calling up the user interface.

Shak!-

This time, instead of a pedestal, a message window appeared right in front of me. Surprisingly, it contained information about me.

━︎ ━︎ ━︎ ━︎ ━︎

⊙︎ User information.

Level: 362.

Name: Rios.

Gender: Male.

Race: Human.

Alias: None.

Rank: 1st floor.

┗︎Trial score: 0p/100p

Public value: 0p

⊙︎ Abilities.

Strength: 241

Agility: 370

Stamina: 257

Mana: 875

Resistance: 69

⊙︎ Skills.

None.

⊙︎ Special notes.

Origin: Indigenous.

━︎ ━︎ ━︎ ━︎ ━︎

I had always been curious about the information window. The clone’s level and abilities were displayed. Roughly calculating, the level seemed to be based on the average of all abilities.

“Was it just a simple absolute value…?”

The absolute value of the level. This could reveal a lot. I understood Shaela’s statement that it’s difficult to evaluate high-level individuals. Skills and combat sense are not measured at all.

With higher levels, the advantage in specific stats widens, and the overall stat difference becomes relatively narrow.

Skill.

Ability.

Judgment.

Fighting style, and so on.

The degree of strength varies depending on the level + one’s own abilities.

At this point, low-level characters are greatly influenced by their stats, and even if high-level characters have the same stats, the gap in strength can be significant depending on their abilities.

In simpler terms, the difference between level 10 and level 50 is like an insurmountable wall, but the difference between level 400 and level 500 can be somewhat bridged.

To sum it up, actual combat power is determined by one’s own abilities to raise their stats.

At higher levels, the emphasis on skills and abilities increases, allowing one to somewhat disregard their level.

However, that doesn’t mean levels are useless.

They provide a rough range and indicator of strength.

You can infer things like my clone being a water body with overflowing mana, things that were hard to grasp just by feeling alone.

Roughly speaking, that’s about it.

Next…

Tap.

I pressed the window display that appeared in front of me to check the system list.

Information Window.

Market (Locked).

Layer Trials.

Map.

Miscellaneous.

The interface is simple.

But one particular list caught my eye.

Layer Trials.

I clicked on it.

Tap.

Survival Survival!

– Administrator: Kael.

– Monster Kaul Raid.

– Administrator: Regnal.

– Doll Play Theater.

– Administrator: Laratica.

– If you want to get stronger, come here!

– Administrator: Sirius.

– Uncover the secrets of the Witch’s Forest.

– Administrator: Luthia.

– Succubus Labyrinth.

…

…

Interestingly, I could see various trials and the administrators’ nicknames.

To climb the tower, one must pass the trials.

I probably have to participate in this.

I clicked on one of them again.

Survival Survival!

– Administrator: Kael.

Trial Content: Survive for 3 days in a giant fortress where vampires appear.

Vampires are at the same level as the participants, and the fewer survivors, the more bonus points can be obtained.

Hidden content will be explained by the administrator.

Administrator’s Comment: Oh~ I’m already looking forward to it. Survive no matter what. The only place where you can get additional points to escape the 1st floor is here. If you survive, that is.

Reward 1: Trial Points 40p.

Reward 2: Public Value 200p.

Failure: No specific consequences.

Rule 1: Disposal if leaving the area.

Rule 2: +5p for vampire elimination.

Rule 3: +1p for participant murder.

Rule 4: Score deduction for participant murder.

Deadline: 3h 12m

It’s like a game.

Thanks to this, I easily understood the tower’s system.

1. To go to the next floor, trial points are needed.

2. To get trial points, one must participate in the layer trials conducted by the administrators.

3. There are more administrators than expected, each overseeing trials in different layers.

And…

Ding!

– Will you participate in the trial location?

– After the trial ends, you will return to the gate you entered.

Using the gate, one can enter the trial location. Additionally, I found out that it’s possible to move between explored gates.

So, the choices have expanded.

Find another gate and venture out.

Obtain trial points and climb to higher floors.

Meet people in the trials and gather information.

In the process, you can also observe the ecology of the administrators and climbers.

There’s a lot to explore.

First, set a goal.

The most important thing is climbing to higher floors.

I need to know about the high-level faction that brought down Shaela and the tower’s trends. After all, the disposal site is ultimately their product.

In other words, climbing is the top priority.

Anyway, there isn’t much information to be gained from the lower levels of the elf village.

So, the only option is to climb up quickly.

*Ding!*

◎︎ You have chosen the trial.

◎︎ Challenging the ‘Survival Trial.’

◎︎ The trial will commence at the designated time. Please wait in front of the gate. Participation will be automatically canceled if you leave.

3 hours until the start of the trial.

It’s a boring waiting time.

With nothing else to do, I touched the gate.

*Tap.*

How was this technology created?

From the first time I saw it, I felt strangely familiar. It’s like a feeling mixed with dimensional roots.

If I felt it correctly, the gate might be related to the World Tree. Since the Inishial said they borrowed the power of the World Trees when creating the tower, it’s quite a plausible conclusion.

Of course, understanding it now won’t change anything.

More than that…

“I wonder if I can’t absorb this.”

Just in case, I modified a part of the stem clothing and touched the gate with a Bacillus toxin.

*Sizzle~*

Unfortunately, it didn’t dissolve.

The toxin evaporated into the air as a gas.

Apart from the fact that the monument was solid, it seemed to be protected by various complex forces.

Above all…

*Ding!*

◎︎ Warning. Do not attack the gate.

◎︎ All attack actions around the gate are prohibited.

◎︎ Any further attack will result in disposal procedures, and if failed, a curse will be imprinted, making you a target for all administrators and rulers.

Touching it wrongly will prevent you from exploring.

There’s no immediate solution, and nothing good will come out of it.

It’s better to focus on climbing the tower.

So, I waited quietly.

I focused on my main body to expand the village area, watched Shaela eating, and observed how the village was functioning, passing the time.

And so, about 3 hours later.

*Ding!*

◎︎ The trial has begun. You can now enter the trial location.

◎︎ Will you move to the trial location?

◎︎ Automatic cancellation after 5 minutes of inactivity.

[Approve/Cancel]

The time has come.

Without hesitation, I pressed approve.

◎︎ Moving to the designated area ‘Vampire Castle.’

Paahh!!-

A light enveloped me at the gate.

At the same time, a familiar energy transported me somewhere.