Chapter 38: Fallen Ones (1)

“I am Kim Daewoong, starting work at the Climbing Surveillance Department as of today! I look forward to working with you!”

Entering the office of the Surveillance Department with a fluttering heart, Kim Daewoong introduced himself in a loud voice. The team members, who had been blinking as they stared at him, soon gave him a light round of applause.

“Wow, a rookie. A real rookie.”

“Welcome. What level are you, Daewoong?”

“I-I am Level 2! I’m on the 3rd Floor of Easy difficulty!”

“Just have a seat for now. It’s almost time for the Manager to return.”

Kim Daewoong sat in a corner seat and nervously looked around. The Manager of the Surveillance Department was a celebrity even among South Korean Climbers.

Shin Soojin. A Level 30 Climber on Normal 16th Floor.

She was an incredible person who had climbed five floors this year alone, becoming the record holder for Normal difficulty in the country. It was only yesterday that the news broke about her breaking through the 15th Floor. Kim Daewoong had been inspired by her, which was why he had come to the Surveillance Department—a place where other Climbers would call you crazy for joining.

Suddenly, people appeared in the middle of the office.

“Ah, Manager. You’re back?”

Everyone greeted her casually, while only Kim Daewoong jumped in surprise. Between the two individuals, the woman noticed Kim Daewoong and looked at him. A team member immediately introduced him.

“Manager, this is the rookie we mentioned was joining today.”

“Ah, hello! My name is Kim Daewoong! My difficulty is Easy 2nd Floor…!”

Shin Soojin reached out a hand and greeted him.

“Welcome. I’m Manager Shin Soojin.”

“Yes, yes. It’s an honor…!”

“…An honor?”

“Ah, no, I mean—I will work hard!”

The people around them burst into laughter. Kim Daewoong’s face turned slightly red as he looked at the two. He had heard that there was a team within the department specifically responsible for the 5th Floor neutral zone. This meant the man was also a Climber of the 5th Floor or higher.

“Yes, I look forward to working with you.”

Shin Soojin soon walked away. As Kim Daewoong stared blankly at her retreating back, the man spoke to him.

“Daewoong, right? How old are you?”

“Ah, I was born in ’98.”

“Hmm~ Why did you come to the Surveillance Department? Didn’t people around you say you were crazy for coming here?”

“Ah, yes. I heard that a lot.”

Kang Juhyuk chuckled. Why would a Climber, who could live comfortably just by selling Magic Stones, choose to roll around in the Climbing Department? That was usually the standard reaction.

Kim Daewoong spoke in a slightly bashful tone. “Well, I personally respect Manager Shin Soojin, and actually, my goal is to climb up to the 5th Floor neutral zone.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. So I wanted to lend some strength to that area, or something like that.”

Kang Juhyuk nodded, appearing genuinely impressed.

“That’s great. But 5th Floor work is much harder than you think. People die in the blink of an eye.”

“…Pardon?”

“Well, it’s basically a lawless zone. Staring contests with Climbers from other countries are a daily routine. If things go south, you end up actually fighting.”

Kim Daewoong’s expression gradually darkened. Kang Juhyuk laughed and waved his hand.

“I’m joking, joking. It’s a place where people live, after all; it’s not that extreme.”

“Ah…”

“Anyway, if the 5th Floor is your goal, we’ll end up working together later. Ah, I mean, we’re on the same team now, but I’m talking about the 5th Floor dedicated team.”

Kang Juhyuk patted him on the shoulder.

“It’s cool that you left a comfortable life to come here. I look forward to working with you.”

“Ah, yes! Me too…!”

Watching Kang Juhyuk leave to follow Shin Soojin, Kim Daewoong’s heart raced. His determination to work hard grew even stronger.

—

As soon as Shin Soojin returned from the 5th Floor, she had to deal with annoying people.

“Congratulations, Manager Shin. You’ve now become the top Normal difficulty Climber in the country. Haha.”

After dealing with high-ranking government officials who had appeared unannounced, Shin Soojin made a cup of coffee in the breakroom.

“You should say something to the Director, Manager. Tell him you’ll quit if he keeps letting those kinds of Humans visit.”

Shin Soojin smirked at Kang Juhyuk, who approached and joked. Kang Juhyuk made himself some instant coffee and asked casually.

“By the way… are you planning to challenge the 16th Floor?”

Shin Soojin shook her head.

“No. I don’t plan on challenging it for the time being.”

“Phew, I thought so. Every time I see you climbing the Tower, I wonder if you’re aiming for the top record.”

The top record. Currently, the highest record for Normal difficulty was the 20th Floor. For any difficulty, information regarding the highest floors was either poorly disclosed or not disclosed at all. This was because, excluding Nightmare difficulty, top-tier Climbers of other difficulties never shared information easily. Information was a reward they had earned by risking their lives.

For Normal difficulty, information from the 16th Floor onward was not properly public. Therefore, for Shin Soojin, challenging it involved a level of pressure far different from her previous climbs. The fear of the unknown was that great.

Having faced it herself, she realized once again how incredible Person123 was. Had that person endured such pressure to conquer three floors of Nightmare? And then released all that information without asking for anything in return?

Shin Soojin usually didn’t have much interest in others, but she often thought of him. He was a hero to humanity, and someone she was personally very grateful to. Since killing Seodongwoo, she no longer suffered from Nightmares.

Honestly, she wanted to see his face once and properly express her gratitude, but whenever she spoke to him on the communication channel, she could feel him drawing a line, so she hadn’t been able to. She simply hoped that such an opportunity would come one day.

“Ah, by the way, it’s almost time. One hour left,” Kang Juhyuk said, switching the subject. Though he didn’t specify the subject, Shin Soojin understood immediately.

The Tower’s 3-year rule. Today was the day that the 1st Climbers who had yet to climb the Tower would die.

Most people had obviously challenged Easy and Normal, and statistics showed that about 5% had given up on Hard. Above all, for Nightmare, far more than half had given up.

Currently, the number of people registered as Nightmare Climbers in South Korea was slightly over three hundred. At the time of the Nightmare Floor 1 conquest, the number of survivors was about 70,000; based on the population ratio, it was estimated that there were at least a hundred more 1st Nightmare Climbers.

The government had offered various rewards and benefits to identify and support 1st Nightmare Climbers, but a significant number had not reported themselves. It could be assumed they had all given up. It was a tragic situation, but there was no way to help them.

Finishing their coffee, Shin Soojin and Kang Juhyuk moved on to their next task.

“About that murder case I mentioned last time. The police requested cooperation, saying the culprit is likely a Climber. I can go alone, Manager. You should get some rest.”

“I just finished resting. Let’s go together.”

“Yes, ma’am. Let’s go then.”

—

As soon as I solved the cube, I slammed it into the slot.

29 seconds. My record had improved significantly.

“I’ll break it soon, won’t I?”

The reason I was attempting to shorten the record for a 3rd Floor cube I had already cleared was because I received a request from Mr. Rhino. He wanted to know exactly if the boss would weaken accordingly if the time to activate the Sun symbol was shortened to under 3 minutes.

It was something that had been on my mind as well, so I decided to verify it. Well, after practicing for a bit, I started to get the hang of it. Plus, I could stop time occasionally while solving the cube, so shortening the time was even easier.

I didn’t necessarily need to stick to under 20 seconds, and I had already confirmed that shortening the cube time slightly to bring the Sun activation under 3 minutes did weaken the boss. But for the sake of accurate information, I kept trying for 20 seconds on the cube. It seemed like I’d get it soon.

“Out of the way, move~.”

I pushed past the Undead in the passage that I hadn’t finished clearing. I activated the Sun symbol, went up, and wiped out the boss. As a side note, the temple disappeared after the Hidden conquest. All that was left in every direction was an endless plain. Just like the other floors, there was nothing more to do here.

I exited the 3rd Floor. Then I entered again. To the 2nd Floor.

“Alright, let’s run.”

I hopped on Fliya’s back and raced through the nighttime forest path with Diul. Since the quest to increase affinity with Diul was always ongoing, I continued our night walks steadily.

“Ah~ I wish the next ability after Stealth would open up soon.”

As I muttered it loud enough for them to hear, Diul snorted. There’s no need to mock me, you brat. Well, since I only got Stealth recently, it was a bit shameless to already want the next stage.

I had already tested various things regarding Diul’s Stealth ability.

One: the maximum duration for Stealth is about 10 minutes. This seemed likely to increase as my connection with Diul grew stronger.

Two: while in Stealth, all sounds and presence I make are blocked. Rather than just being invisible, it seemed like an ability to erase one’s very presence.

And three: Stealth breaks if I receive a certain amount of impact, move too fast, or use a skill. In short, it was impossible to maintain it continuously during combat. However, even if it broke, I could reactivate it fairly quickly. Even with just this much, the uses for this Stealth ability were endless.

“Don’t you have any special abilities, Fliya?”

I asked Fliya, who was running with me on its back. Of course, there was no answer. It just raced along excitedly. Right, for this guy, a Level 50 physical build is the ability itself. Without the Destruction Line skill, he’s a Monster I’m still not confident I could beat.

Ah, but Fliya, like Diul, could communicate mentally. That too was an ability if you count telepathy. After a fun run and finishing the 2nd Floor night walk, I returned to my room. I had to head out soon. Today was the day to receive the Magic Stones.

“Should I buy a car?”

The thought suddenly occurred to me. I had never felt the need for one, so I usually just used public transportation. I haven’t even gotten a driver’s license yet. Wouldn’t going for a drive be a good hobby, just like riding Fliya in the Tower?

I once saw a documentary on YouTube saying it was dangerous if Climbers got too absorbed in the Tower. After all, being a Climber means risking your life and personally killing things. I felt like I hadn’t changed much, but mental health was something to look after. Come to think of it, because I’ve been in and out of the Tower so much, I haven’t gone out for anything other than necessities lately. I decided that while I was out today, I’d take a long walk here and there before coming back.

I habitually checked the communication channel for a moment before turning it off. 20 days had passed since the 3rd Floor conquest, and today was the day predicted by the 3-year rule. The 1st Climbers who were called by the Tower first and have remained Unclimbed will die soon.

I heard they can actually see a separate timer. In their eyes, a timer with about an hour left was ticking away.

For the record, the number of Nightmare Conquerors has become fifteen, with a few more succeeding recently. Looking at the decreased personnel, it seemed many of the 1st Climbers had attempted it, but it was a desperate survival rate that was no longer surprising. There was still an hour left, so there might be more who challenge it, but many seemed to have accepted death and chosen not to try.

It couldn’t be helped. Wishing that they could at least meet a peaceful death, I prepared to go out.

—

While driving toward the Seoul Seocho Police Station, Shin Soojin and Kang Juhyuk spotted a crowd of people huddled together on the street.

“Get lost! You bastards! If you come any closer, I’ll really kill you!”

Surprised, the two immediately parked the car and got out. A man was holding a knife to a woman’s neck, conducting a hostage situation.

“Damn it, why do I have to die! Someone save me…!”

“Please calm down! Calm down and put the knife away!”

Kang Juhyuk stepped forward to try and calm the man. The man, who appeared to be in an abnormal state, screamed in despair.

“Would you be calm if you were me! I’m a Nightmare Climber! I only have 3 minutes left! Aaargh!”

Shin Soojin checked the Nightmare time limit.

As the man said, there were only about 3 minutes left. The moment the remaining time became exactly 1 year, the 3-year rule would trigger. Someone driven that far into a corner could truly kill. Blood was already flowing from the woman’s neck. Just as Shin Soojin was agonizing over whether she should attempt a rescue even by force—

Clang.

The man suddenly dropped the knife and slumped to the ground. Shin Soojin immediately stepped in and secured the panicking woman.

“It’s all done… it’s over… hehe…”

Whether he had given up or not, the man muttered with a faint laugh. Kang Juhyuk approached him. There was only one thing he could say to the man.

“I am truly sorry.”

10 seconds, 9 seconds, 8 seconds… The time was approaching. Both Shin Soojin and Kang Juhyuk just quietly watched the man’s condition. And then…

With the message, the man collapsed without any warning. The onlookers held their breath. Kang Juhyuk checked the collapsed man’s pulse and muttered.

“…So they die like this.”

Just as Shin Soojin sighed and tried to approach the man’s body—