The Legendary Regressor Devours the Tower - Chapter 07

Chapter 7

At the same time.

Sungwoon was leisurely browsing the online community.

“The response is heating up just as expected.”

It would be a different story if he could climb quietly, but…

Whenever someone achieved a score of SS-Rank or higher in the Tower, or obtained a hidden encounter equivalent to it, the system shared the news with every climber.

That was precisely how Sungwoon had been able to gather information about hidden encounters in his past life as well.

“By now, everyone must be frantically trying to find me.”

A beginner who had just completed the tutorial.

Usually, guilds only proceeded with recruitment after crunching the numbers to determine whether someone was worth bringing in.

However, in Sungwoon’s case, finishing with an EX-Rank was as good as proving he possessed unmatched potential.

They would try to entice Sungwoon with all sorts of sweet offers, but in truth, Sungwoon had no intention of joining any guild.

Normally, joining a guild right after completing the tutorial to accelerate growth was the standard route, but…

‘It’ll just get in the way of my solo climbing.’

Of course, with an achievement of this magnitude, he could probably add special clause provisions to climb solo anyway, but he refused to be tied down by a guild.

Guilds didn’t scout and nurture talent out of charity.

Once they deemed a member sufficiently grown, that member was expected to prioritize helping the guild grow.

He had no desire to waste time on a guild when every second spent focusing on climbing wasn’t even enough.

‘Still, that doesn’t mean I can skip registering.’

Simply put, one could think of it as resident registration.

The procedure was simple.

After identity verification, once an individual underwent an inspection to confirm their awakening status alongside their climbing qualification, the registration was complete.

If one wanted to avoid troublesome matters, staying unregistered would be the way, but in today’s society, unregistered awakeners were treated the same as terrorists.

In fact, cases of unregistered awakeners causing terrorist incidents were all too frequent.

The Awakened Association was created to prevent such occurrences at all costs.

An institution that managed awakeners who received invitations to climb.

If guilds were groups pursuing profit, the Association could be described as a body focused on maintaining order.

They registered awakeners, classified abilities, assessed threat grades,

and directly took action to resolve crimes committed by awakeners.

Handling countless other duties besides these was precisely what the Association did.

‘Let’s head to the Association.’

Currently, the only skill Sungwoon possessed was Super-sensation, but if people found out that Super-sensation could grow up to SS-Rank, all eyes would undoubtedly fall on him.

Furthermore, achieving extraordinary results during his climb would send notifications to all climbers around the world.

Operating while unregistered would come with immense risks.

Conversely, if he registered with the Association, he wouldn’t have to worry about being held back like in a guild, could enjoy most of the benefits, and could even invoke the Padlock card to receive protection.

‘Then I’ll be able to focus entirely on climbing.’

The 80th floor.

It couldn’t end with simply repaying those Giant Soldier bastards for the defeat he suffered.

The 81st floor, the 82nd floor.

Every time he climbed higher, even more powerful Transcendants would be waiting to greet Sungwoon.

To annihilate those bastards, he needed to grow beyond any comparison to his previous life.

Sungwoon looked down at the book in his hand.

[Book of Swords]

-Type: Skill Book

-Grade: ?

-A book containing the soul of the sword.

-Upon using the book, randomly acquires a skill based on swordsmanship.

*The grade is determined based on the user’s proficiency and potential.

Super-sensation alone would cause a massive stir, but acquiring a swordsmanship skill through the Book of Swords would trigger an even greater sensation.

“Even better.”

If he decided to reveal himself, he might as well go all out.

[Would you like to use the Book of Swords?]

“Use.”

At that moment, the book flashed brightly and vanished into thin air.

[You have acquired Swordsmanship Mastery (SS).]

The Association building was bustling with people from early morning.

“Haa, I’m so tired…”

Standing in front of the Association building for work, Lee Kichul pressed down hard on his throbbing head, trying his best to keep his emotions in check.

Why wasn’t that damn building blowing up?

Why did he still have to go to work even though he possessed the qualifications of a climber?

Ah, right.

Because he had to earn money.

He had neither the talent nor the confidence to climb the high floors, so he had given up and joined the company.

He felt like dying of frustration, but he had to work to feed his family.

The problem was the EX-Rank who had emerged in South Korea.

After finishing the tutorial with an EX-Rank and gaining the qualification of a climber, they would certainly visit the Association to request registration.

Word on the street was that the monster rookie hadn’t joined any guild yet.

‘That’s why they’re all huddling out there like that.’

Although the area in front of the Association was usually crowded with people, right now it was an absolute sea of humanity, completely incomparable to normal days.

‘It’s already been four days! You crazy bastards!’

Lee Kichul cursed internally as he stepped into the building and sat at his desk.

Coincidentally, the team he worked in was the inspection team.

Their job was to conduct tests using inspection equipment powered by mana from the Tower and transmit the results.

“Assistant Manager-nim, you’re here?”

A subordinate handed a canned coffee toward Lee Kichul, who was sitting with a face steeped in exhaustion.

It was Employee Hwang Chanhee, his junior of a little over a year.

Lee Kichul let out a heavy sigh as he took the canned coffee.

“Ha, Chanhee-ya. I’m dead tired.”

“Haha, well, it is Monday after all.”

“I took my wife and kids to Gangneung over the weekend.”

“Wow, Gangneung? Must’ve been tough driving all that way.”

“Don’t even get me started. Man, why was the traffic so insane…”

As they engaged in small talk, it wasn’t long before the clock struck 9:00 AM.

The waiting crowd poured into the building like a flood and began pulling waiting numbers.

The inspections would begin in the order of those waiting numbers.

“Assistant Manager-nim, do you think he came today?”

Hwang Chanhee asked with a face full of curiosity.

“The monster rookie?”

“Yes. Finishing with an EX-Rank… What kind of person is he, seriously?”

“Who knows. Seeing how he hasn’t shown up even after more than a week, maybe he’ll only show up once things quiet down.”

“It’s strange. If it were me, I would’ve come for the inspection right away.”

The inspection was just a formality.

Love calls would be pouring in from countless guilds.

Receiving offers at a level they couldn’t even dream of.

“I know, right. They say those who have a lot are always worse.”

If he was an EX-Rank, Lee Kichul wished he’d just hurry up, get inspected, and reduce the crowd outside.

“Assistant Manager-nim, here comes one.”

“Yeah…”

Today’s war had begun as well.

‘There are a lot of them.’

Standing at the crosswalk opposite the Association building, Sungwoon let out a hollow laugh.

He had intentionally waited until after the weekend, but even on Monday morning, the place was packed with people.

Those entering the building were likely climbers going through registration procedures, while the bastards loitering outside were probably guild scouters.

They had undoubtedly come under orders to somehow locate the beginner who finished with an EX-Rank.

Tuk.

As Sungwoon stood still, someone bumped into his shoulder.

Turning his head, he saw a man who looked to be in his early twenties jumping back in shock.

“I’m so sorry! I was walking while looking at my phone… Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“I’m really sorry.”

At his polite apology, Sungwoon waved his hand as if to say it was all right.

Once his apology was accepted, the man bowed politely once more, crossed the pedestrian crossing, and entered the Association building.

‘Ah, the light turned green.’

He hadn’t noticed because he was staring at the scouts.

Sungwoon crossed the crosswalk belatedly and arrived in front of the Association.

‘Besides, he looked a bit familiar. Where did I see him before?’

So much time had passed that he couldn’t recall clearly, but he felt like he had seen that man somewhere.

“Please take this.”

Just then, a scout approached and thrust a business card out without hesitation.

Sungwoon gave a half-hearted nod and accepted the business card.

“Are you a skill possessor by any chance?”

“May I ask what your grade is?”

Following that, one after another, people handed their business cards to Sungwoon.

‘So they’re just handing them out to everyone for now.’

They were handing out cards to every single climber visiting the Association.

By the time he stepped inside the Association, he had accumulated a total of 32 business cards.

Sungwoon roughly shoved the business cards into his pocket.

‘It’s less chaotic than outside.’

When he pulled a waiting number, there were 65 people ahead of him.

The waiting room was packed with visitors who had come to register.

‘Hmm? That guy?’

Deep inside the waiting room, a familiar figure was sitting on a chair.

It was Han Geonu, who had been eliminated at Sungwoon’s hands during the tutorial.

Unbefitting his massive frame, he was sitting on the chair, sighing as if trying to cave in the ground.

His haggard face suggested he had gone through severe mental turmoil.

Sungwoon pulled his hood down low and stepped into the waiting room.

Although they had only clashed briefly, Sungwoon understood him clearly.

Considering Geonu’s temperament, there was no way he was here to register right now.

Without a doubt, he was running around looking for the EX-Rank rookie on orders from his guild.

Sungwoon quietly walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“What the fuck? Who put their hand on my shoulder—!”

Han Geonu turned his head with an annoyed expression, only to freeze rock-solid in an instant.

Sungwoon offered a smirk, then brought his face close to Geonu’s ear and whispered softly.

“Long time no see. You’re working hard looking for me, aren’t you?”

“F-Found… Hup!”

Han Geonu tried frantically to pull out his phone, only to have it snatched away by Sungwoon.

At the absurd speed of the movement, Han Geonu gasped loudly.

“Trying to report to your guild?”

“How did you know that…?”

“Man, you’re even dumber than I thought. Why are you being loyal to a place like that?”

“Don’t talk shit. Who are you to judge Cheonha?”

Han Geonu growled, but his voice was so quiet it seemed like it was crawling into a burrow.

Was it because he had tasted death at Sungwoon’s hands before?

Due to PTSD, he didn’t even dare think of attacking.

Sungwoon smirked and added to his words.

“Think about it. If they genuinely intended to raise you, they wouldn’t be working you like this; they’d have made you climb the Tower. Didn’t you return all the items they issued you as well?”

“…”

In an instant, Han Geonu’s eyes quivered subtly.

“What kind of guild in the world works a talented rookie like this?”

Honestly, his previous statement was sincere.

If Cheonha really intended to properly nurture Han Geonu, they shouldn’t have left him like this; they should have helped him climb the lower floors so he could grow.

‘They probably plan to discard him after finding me.’

What good was possessing a skill?

It was completely useless if he didn’t grow properly.

“Th-Then, you’re saying… they’re going to dump me after finding you…?”

“Now we’re speaking the same language.”

“Ha…”

Han Geonu slumped his shoulders with a despondent look on his face.

He was quick to accept it.

It meant he himself had actually anticipated it to some degree.

Because he had been eliminated in the tutorial before he could even get things properly underway.

“So, I’ll make you a proposal.”

“A proposal?”

“Yeah. My friend is climbing hard in quite a large guild too. I’ll act as a stepping stone so you can join that guild.”

Sungwoon pulled out his phone and opened his gallery.

It was a photo of the guild business card that Seo Jaepil had sent him, telling him to join his guild if he ever happened to receive an invitation card.

Seeing Horus’s business card, Han Geonu’s eyes widened.

“Is that really true?”

“Yeah. You’ll receive far better treatment than at Cheonha, which treats you like a tool.”

“…Okay. Then what do I need to do?”

“You see the front main entrance over there?”

Sungwoon pointed toward the main entrance outside.

Han Geonu nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Good. Then…”

Sungwoon whispered softly, and Han Geonu’s pupils trembled violently.

Leaving the waiting room, Sungwoon immediately sent a text message to Seo Jaepil.

It was a short message asking for forgiveness for using his guild’s name a little bit.

‘As expected, there are some eyes that recognize me.’

There were 100 people matched in the tutorial, including Sungwoon.

With so many eyes focused on the situation, he had severed Han Geonu’s breathing.

As a result, the moment he stepped into the waiting room, he could see eyes recognizing him.

‘Well, it’s not like I ever thought I could truly hide it anyway.’

The moment he resolved to reveal his presence, his identity being exposed was merely a matter of time.

He had simply played a little trick to deliver a minor revenge to Han Geonu, who had recklessly challenged him to begin with and then clung to Cheonha to desperately hunt him down.

Unless he was crazy, there was no way he would agree to that proposal.

Ttirring-

After waiting for nearly two hours, Sungwoon’s turn finally arrived.

With the waiting ticket in hand, Sungwoon stepped into the inspection room.