The Legendary Regressor Devours the Tower - Chapter 06

Episode 6

Titles can broadly be divided into three categories.

Combat Type

Defense Type

Growth Type

Simply put, Combat Type titles are specialized for battle.

They provide effects such as boosting attack power, allowing the use of specific skills, or increasing damage output.

Defense Type titles had the advantage of being specialized for survivability, offering defense, recovery, stacking buffs, and so on.

Lastly, the Growth Type.

These could be described as titles that actively assist the user’s growth.

Things like gaining a random skill with a low probability upon leveling up, or increasing a skill’s rank much faster.

‘The S+ rank that Rosalane obtained was a Combat Type.’

Through that Combat Type title, she easily blasted through the lower floors of the tower.

‘I naturally thought a Combat Type title would pop up.’

Specifically, an SS-Rank Combat Type title one rank higher than hers.

Yet, the result turned out to be a Title Exchange Token.

‘Isn’t this way better?’

A Title Exchange Token meant he could pick one directly himself.

Having a broader range of options was extremely welcome news.

‘If it’s not just the rank increasing, the subsequent rewards will probably be slightly different too, right?’

The memoir left behind by the unidentified climber had only explained the method to achieve EX-Rank.

It hadn’t left behind even a single line regarding the additional rewards associated with it.

‘Still, it’s a relief that I can roughly predict it.’

Sungwoon was a latecomer in his past life.

Because of that, by the time he reached the lower floors, all the strategy guides that could exist had already been published.

The same went for the additional rewards.

From Rosalane, who achieved SSS-grade and got an S+-rank title, to Lee Seonghwan of Changseong, who achieved SSS-grade on the 2nd floor and acquired an S-rank skill, and so on.

The fact that he roughly knew about the major rewards allowed him to make reasonable guesses.

Just like with the title, things wouldn’t deviate completely from his expectations.

“Whoa, I never expected an EX-rank tutorial grade to come out of this planet.”

Right then, a portal materialized, and some robot-like thing popped out.

‘It’s been a while.’

Administrators exist within the tower.

Simply put, puppets controlled by transcendent beings.

These puppets manage the tower in 10-floor increments, and the robot right in front of him manages Floors 1 through 10.

So why on earth did such an administrator appear in this place?

‘It’s probably because I completed the tutorial with EX-Rank.’

Normally, administrators hardly ever show up in the tutorial.

That’s because the tutorial system is well established, and novice climbers rarely end up snagging proper rewards anyway.

But since Sungwoon had gone beyond SSS-grade and reached EX-Rank, it would actually be strange for an administrator not to appear.

“Who are you?”

Sungwoon deliberately feigned ignorance and asked.

“A bit casual with your words, aren’t you?”

The administrator pointed out Sungwoon’s attitude as if displeased.

However, Sungwoon merely shrugged his shoulders and added nonchalantly,

“Why should I speak respectfully when I don’t even know who you are?”

“…Ha, so you’re saying you’ll speak respectfully once you know my identity?”

“If you want.”

“I don’t like you… Fine. I am an administrator of this tower!”

The administrator puffed out its chest grandly and introduced itself.

‘Acting silly on purpose, I see.’

Sungwoon knew full well just how treacherous and ruthless those administrators were.

As long as you don’t mess with them, nothing happens, but if you offend them even a little, they mercilessly take a climber’s life.

And in an extremely insidious manner at that.

Sungwoon himself had almost lost his life to an administrator in the late 50th floors.

“So, what is the reason for your appearance?”

“Hmph, simple. It’s to sell items to you, who has gold.”

Right.

No matter how much he loathed them, this was the exact reason he had to face them.

To purchase various armaments, skill books, and consumable items using currency obtained in the tower, one had to go through an administrator.

Of course, even without an administrator, one could purchase items through NPCs residing on each floor.

However, only those administrators possessed the real deal items, leaving no choice but to go through them.

Currently, the gold Sungwoon held was 422.

He had obtained one gold each from the Minor Towers, and by finishing the tutorial with EX-Rank, he gained a whopping 420, making a grand total of 422.

“Rather than that, I’d like to use this first.”

What Sungwoon pulled out was the token.

Buying items and skills with 422 gold was important, but the title came first.

“Wow, I really didn’t expect the day would come when I’d pull this out.”

The administrator snapped its fingers along with those words.

With that, a holographic window appeared before Sungwoon.

On the screen, over 100 titles were laid out in a list format.

‘All of these are SS-Rank…’

In his past life, even while climbing up to the 80th floor, he had only seen SS-Rank titles a mere five times.

It was truly beyond astonishing.

“I can just pick whatever I want to choose, right?”

“Of course. However, once chosen, it cannot be undone, so choose carefully.”

Sungwoon slowly scrolled down the list.

[Steel God (Beginner)]

[God Slayer (Beginner)]

[Reaper (Beginner)]

The title given to Rosalane had been Descendant of the Reaper.

And Reaper, which was one tier higher than that, was on the list.

‘What do I need most right now?’

He had originally crafted his plan for the lower floors thinking he would get his hands on a Combat Type title.

Every title on the list was exclusive to beginners.

They were designed to provide high efficiency on the lower floors, but their efficiency dropped as one climbed to higher floors.

‘I’ll have to swap it out later anyway.’

Titles could not be stacked and used simultaneously.

Because of that, he had to replace it in the future, and if it weren’t beginner-exclusive, he would have chosen a Combat Type title without question, but…

‘I’m going with a Growth Type.’

Achieving significant growth on the lower floors would make things much more advantageous upon reaching the upper floors, and since he could directly pick a Growth Type title, the need to choose a Combat Type vanished.

‘Here it is.’

Sungwoon’s finger, scrolling through the list, came to a stop.

[Blessing of Odious (Beginner)]

Blessing of Odious.

[Blessing of Odious (Beginner)]

Type: Title

Rank: SS

When equipped, grants the blessing of Odious, the God of Light.

Clear evaluation bonus points increased by 20%

Skill growth speed increased by 30%

Experience gain increased by 1.5x

Efficiency decreased by 50% after the 10th floor

Efficiency decreased by 90% after the 15th floor

The reason for choosing this title was simple.

Because it was the only title that actually carried a clear evaluation bonus point modifier.

‘It’s a more broken option than anything else.’

Right now, there were no hidden encounters remaining on the lower floors.

Items of A-to-S-rank tier had already been swept clean by the frontrunners.

What Sungwoon had to target on the lower floors was the additional rewards based on clear performance.

Therefore, it was safe to consider it the ultimate god-tier title exclusively tailored for Sungwoon.

“Hmm? Why did you pick that of all things?”

The administrator tilted its head in confusion.

In all its time managing Floors 1 through 10, this was only the third time it had pulled out SS-Rank titles.

And both the first and second climbers had taken titles specialized for combat.

That was because, unlike acquired skills, titles applied with fixed ranks.

From a novice’s perspective, receiving the stat corrections of an SS-Rank title would double their climbing speed.

So why did he pass up the Combat Type and pick Blessing of Odious?

“Do I really need to explain even that to you line by line?”

Sungwoon had no intention of telling it.

“Ha, fine. If you tell me, I’ll give you a 10% discount on items.”

A 10% item discount.

Purely out of curiosity, it made a phenomenal offer.

The administrator was genuinely curious as to why Sungwoon had chosen such a title.

“Is the discount on all items?”

“Of course.”

“…Because of the special rewards.”

“Special rewards? Don’t tell me you’re confident you can keep receiving high scores from here on out?”

What an absurd guy.

No matter how incredible a score he recorded in the tutorial, it was just the tutorial.

The higher up he climbed, the more bizarrely atrocious difficulty it would boast—nothing the tutorial could even compare to.

“Anyway, I’ve answered. Now, shall we take a look at the items?”

“Phehehe, fine. As promised, I’ll give you 10% off all items.”

The administrator took quite a liking to Sungwoon.

That kind of reckless confidence wasn’t bad either.

Managing the tower, it had seen plenty of that type before.

Their common trait was that, without exception, none of them ended well.

How thrilling it was whenever it saw faces where seemingly unshakeable confidence vanished, leaving only despair behind.

The human in front of it wouldn’t be any different.

I’ll watch and see just how long that confidence lasts.

“I’ll take this one.”

What Sungwoon picked was a single book.

And a whopping 450 gold at that.

Since it promised a 10% discount, the price was 405 gold.

“Book of Swords? You really should moderate your confidence.”

The administrator chuckled.

Book of Swords.

This book was no mere skill book.

It was a special skill book that allowed one to randomly acquire a skill based on pure talent and current proficiency.

If talent and proficiency backed you up, you would acquire a skill that much better; if not, you’d acquire a very basic skill.

“It’s 405 gold, right?”

“You don’t even plan to listen to advice, huh? Fine. It’s 405 gold.”

The administrator grinned slyly and pulled out the Book of Swords.

With a heart filled with expectation to see Sungwoon’s face consumed by despair.

[You have purchased the Book of Swords.]

[405 Gold has been deducted.]

As 405 gold was deducted, the Book of Swords was placed into Sungwoon’s hands.

The appearance of EX-Rank.

Even though it was just the tutorial, the whole world went wild over a rank appearing for the very first time.

Especially at the news that the person who finished with EX-Rank was Korean, South Korea was buzzing.

[No way, there was an EX-Rank thing too?]

WTF? An SSS-grade came out on the 12th floor two years ago. Wasn’t that the top rank?

The online communities were flooded with posts about EX-Rank.

└ Wow… and they say it’s just the tutorial.

└ Someone who got their invitation not too long ago scored EX-Rank?

└ Holy shit, how did they pull that off? I went in after memorizing the strategy guide by heart, but I got pushed around by others and finished with B-rank.

└ That’s normally expected… The tutorial is the realm of existing skill holders.

└ What kind of skill do you even have to acquire to get EX-Rank?

└ Beats me. One thing’s for sure: only a brilliant future remains ahead of that climber.

└ All the large guilds are gonna pounce on them lol I’m so damn jealous T_T

└ They’ll get treated like royalty when they join, right?

└ I can’t even imagine.

Just as those words said, major guilds were frantic to find the owner of the EX-Rank.

“Did you look into it?”

“I’m sorry. We found out nothing.”

“Is that so?”

At the unsatisfactory report, Team Leader Yoo Jinseok knitted his brows and tapped his fingers.

“We will comb through the entirety of South Korea using Han Geonu-ssi.”

The employee nonchalantly spat out words that would have horrified Han Geonu had he heard them.

Only then did Jinseok’s brow smooth back out.

“How long will it take?”

“We will find them within a week.”

“I’ll trust you one last time.”

Normally, he would have just appreciated the thought, but to recruit a monster rookie, this was no time to be picky about methods.

He had a full armor set along with the Bulgul skill.

Subduing such a Han Geonu in an instant with nothing more than a single dagger meant that they must have acquired a skill of at least SS-Rank or higher.

SS-Rank or higher…

Even just imagining it made his heart throb.

The powerhouse climbers who ranked in the top 50 worldwide had acquired SS-Rank or higher skills upon awakening.

Even those individuals ended up unable to receive SS-Rank or higher in the tutorial.

That meant that this monster newbie’s potential was proof of far surpassing even them.

‘We must recruit them at all costs.’

He had to target the period right when they just finished the tutorial.

If he was too late, they would soar so high he wouldn’t be able to catch them.

“Keep it in mind. We must absolutely find them first.”

Balhae.

He heard that the rookie recruited by that guild had also participated in this tutorial.

So they must have witnessed that monster with their own two eyes.

There was no way they would just sit idly by and watch a monster who finished with EX-Rank.

They had to find the monster before Balhae no matter what.

“Yes!”

The employee answered loudly and left the office.

Left alone, Yoo Jinseok rested his chin on his hand and looked at the framed picture hanging on the wall.

Embedded in the frame was the guild emblem.

The emblem crafted directly by his father, Yoo Daeho.

It contained the resolve to place all people beneath his feet.

‘I will put Cheonha at the very top, no matter what.’