The Legendary Regressor Devours the Tower - Chapter 09

Chapter 9

[User Information]

Name : Yoo Sungwoon

Level : 6

[Detailed Stats]

Strength : 11

Agility : 11

Stamina : 11

Perception : 11

Mana : 11

Level 6.

Having finished the tutorial, it was understandable that his level had risen to 6.

The problem was the skills held by the examinee.

Super-sensation (SS)

Swordsmanship Mastery (SS)

‘My goodness… What is this?’

Hwang Chanhee, who had joined the company not long ago, was seeing grades SS and higher for the first time.

Not even just one, but two of them.

Even if their current grade was low, they would grow to SS-rank over time, right?

‘This is seriously insane. So these are the skills possessed by someone who finished with an EX-Rank…’

So someone had to be at this level to meet the Association President face-to-face.

As Lee Kichul and Hwang Chanhee stared at the inspection sheet with entranced eyes,

“I asked if you were done.”

Sungwoon woke them up with a single word.

Snapping back to reality, Lee Kichul hurriedly bowed.

“Ah, I apologize. Are the contents of this result sheet correct?”

Checking the result sheet, Sungwoon nodded.

“Yes. That’s right.”

Titles ought to be added here, but titles were categorized as items rather than skills.

Therefore, it didn’t show up in the inspection results.

“In that case… we will refrain from making these results public for now.”

Normally, when inspection results were issued, they were published on a program used exclusively by guild officials.

Based on those results, guilds would try to contact the climber to recruit them.

However, in Sungwoon’s case, since the Association President himself had moved, they planned not to disclose them until things were finalized.

“Let’s do that.”

In front of the association were the Balhae Guild, the Horus Guild, and more.

Major guilds were all gathered together.

“Seungbeom-ssi, is that guy really the EX-Rank?”

An HR staff member who arrived late and Park Seungbeom.

Park Seungbeom had completed his inspection on the day he finished the tutorial and was confirmed as an S-rank skill holder.

The reason he had come to this place was none other than Han Geonu, who was throwing a temper tantrum out front.

“No. That guy is the bastard Cheonha recruited. And he died as soon as the tutorial started.”

He remembered it clearly.

That he had attacked a man wearing no equipment at all, only to have his breath cut off in an instant.

“Ah, so that’s why Cheonha is throwing such a fit.”

Han Geonu was still bickering with Cheonha, and the surrounding scouts seemed to have figured things out to some extent.

“Yes. As I recall, it was a man with a solid build and pretty looks.”

A monster who possessed overwhelming martial prowess, unlike his appearance of not wearing a single piece of equipment.

“Then why is he claiming to be the EX-Rank?”

The staff member tilted his head.

“Who knows. He’s such an unpredictable bastard…”

Even if only for a moment, he had clearly felt just how thoughtless Han Geonu was.

That was why even such absurd behavior made a certain amount of sense.

“I just heard that someone made contact with him.”

Just then, another staff member returned and reported.

“Contact?”

“Yes. I couldn’t hear the details of what was said, but seeing as he started claiming to be the EX-Rank right after, it seems to be connected.”

“…I seriously don’t get it.”

Causing a commotion like that, he would get caught in no time.

Moreover, in front of the guild scouts, there was no way Cheonha would leave him be.

He would 100% be expelled from the guild.

The problem was that it would also make it awkward for him to join any other guild.

What on earth was said between them that could drive him to play such a gamble?

“The problem is that he’s a guy who hasn’t registered yet.”

An HR staff member clicked his tongue.

Park Seungbeom tilted his head.

“He hasn’t registered?”

“Yes. No doubt Cheonha made him wait at the Association to hunt down the EX-Rank.”

The waiting room in front of the Inspection Room could only be used by those preparing to register.

Cheonha probably exploited that point to keep Han Geonu from registering.

And that was why things were being delayed like this.

“Their handling of things is really something else.”

It was so absurd he wondered whose head that idea came from.

“Tell me about it.”

‘He’s doing better than I thought, isn’t he?’

Having come up to the 5th floor, Sungwoon looked down through the window at Han Geonu making a racket.

He never expected him to actually try it, let alone hold out for this long in his wildest dreams.

“I will check the inspection sheet for a moment.”

“Go ahead.”

Choi Hyuk completely ignored the situation outside and received the inspection sheet from the staff member.

His reaction afterward was also not much different from Lee Kichul and Hwang Chanhee.

“Heo…”

Choi Hyuk could not contain his admiration.

He felt he understood why the man’s confidence pierced the sky.

From the moment he received his invitation up until sitting as Association President today, he had never in his life seen a climber starting off with two SS-rank skills right from the beginning.

“What will you do?”

“Before that, there is something I need to tell you.”

He could not miss out on this monster rookie.

Choi Hyuk wanted to bring him to the Association even if it meant accepting all the conditions he requested.

However, he needed to make things clear.

“What is it?”

“We are a bit different from guilds. The tower system overwhelmingly favors guilds.”

Every year, during the year-end settlement, the tower distributes differential rewards based on guild rankings.

What’s more, it distributes them individually to every guild member affiliated with a guild.

This was the reason why no matter how hard lower guilds tried, they couldn’t break through to the top.

Because as time went on, the gap kept widening.

This was also a major reason why climbers tried so hard to join a good guild.

On the other hand, the Association cannot receive rewards from the tower.

Because the tower completely excluded them.

“Of course, there are benefits as well. First, climbers belonging to the Association are granted bonus points.”

Instead of being unable to receive rewards, bonus points were attached.

A whopping 2%.

Including the Blessing of Odious title, that amounted to a massive 22% increase.

‘That means even if I mess up a bit, I could still get EX-Rank.’

This part was extremely appealing to Sungwoon.

“And?”

“We can summarily judge problem awakeners.”

For example, bastards who misuse their power to commit crimes.

Bastards who intentionally refrain from registering.

Bastards who act without the Association’s permission, and so on.

The authority to eliminate such bastards is granted.

Of course, that didn’t apply to everyone in the Association; there was a separate dedicated crime unit.

“Are you saying you’ll give me that authority?”

“Not right away. The Association will support everything Sungwoon-ssi needs, and when it is deemed appropriate, we will also grant you investigative authority.”

At such an unprecedented offer, Sungwoon smirked.

“So you’re saying you want to invest in me.”

“Yes. The Association will serve as Sungwoon-ssi’s shield. Furthermore, we will not touch your solo climbs or the rewards that come with them. We will also allow you to establish a guild and engage in dual activities. In return, you must prove yourself.”

“Proof?”

“Yes. Your initial clear score must absolutely never drop below SS. That is the condition.”

“What if it drops?”

“A few of the options will disappear.”

Usually, when a beginner climbs the lower floors alone, the reality is that it’s difficult to get an A, let alone an SS.

So he was indirectly telling him to cancel his solo climb if he wasn’t confident.

However, that story didn’t apply to Sungwoon.

SS-Rank?

To him, who was aiming for EX-Rank, such a condition didn’t matter whether it was attached or not.

But it would be a shame to accept it just like this.

“If those kind of conditions are attached, I think it might be better to just join a guild.”

When the topic of guilds came up, Choi Hyuk gave a subtle smile as if he had expected it.

“I mentioned that we would support everything. That includes high-grade items held by the Association. Of course, we will arrange it so Sungwoon-ssi can choose the items you want.”

“!”

Sungwoon’s eyes widened.

A lot of time had passed since the tower appeared.

How many hidden encounters had been discovered during that process?

Most of them had been used, but there were some that remained unused.

Cases where the Association or guilds kept them stored without using them.

Even if EX-Rank was incredible, he didn’t expect him to pull out the hidden encounter card.

“Of course, I don’t mean we will hand them over right away.”

“Is that included in the proof?”

“That’s correct. We plan to calculate your subsequent results and provide Sungwoon-ssi with the hidden encounters stored in the Association.”

Didn’t those words mean he could also get ‘that thing’ stored in the Association?

A hidden encounter that, like Super-sensation, was used late, but boasted overwhelming performance.

Maintaining a poker face, Sungwoon nodded.

“That’s an extraordinary offer.”

“Isn’t it?”

“What’s the reason?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m curious why you’d bring out hidden encounters stored for a long time just to recruit a single person.”

Choi Hyuk slowly nodded his head and picked up his teacup.

Hurureuk.

As he moistened his throat, silence settled for a moment.

Before long, Choi Hyuk broke that silence and spoke.

“I want them to be used by a deserving person.”

“Pardon?”

“It has been 10 years since the tower appeared.”

Choi Hyuk added as he raised his teacup once more.

“Even so, what we’ve climbed isn’t even a quarter, let alone half.”

“We’ve climbed up to the 24th floor.”

Currently, humanity was struggling on the 24th floor.

Of course, they were scheduled to break through half a year from now.

“Do you remember the warning message before the tower appeared?”

“Yes.”

How could he forget?

Since the dimension’s lifespan had come to an end, if they failed to reach the top, Earth would be deleted.

“The time we can spend so leisurely like this will also come to an end someday. So we must reach the top within that time… but frankly speaking, I don’t see anyone with the skill to climb all the way to the top.”

“So you’re saying you want to test me?”

Finishing the tutorial at EX-Rank.

Possessing two SS-rank skills before even properly starting the climb.

Since deciding whether to grant them depended on subsequent performance, he must have deemed it worth the gamble.

“Isn’t it an attractive proposal for Sungwoon-ssi as well? They are hidden encounters, after all. Among them, there are even SS-ranks.”

“…Fine. I will prove it.”

At this level, there was no reason to refuse.

“Welcome to the Association. With this, I will ensure that Sungwoon-ssi’s information can never be viewed by anyone other than me.”

Choi Hyuk extended his hand to Sungwoon, and Sungwoon took his hand with a subtle smile.

“Yes. I will also be establishing a guild soon, so I ask for your great assistance.”

After Sungwoon left, a meeting was held centered around the Association President.

The topic was regarding the recruitment of the monster rookie.

“Bringing out the hidden encounters stored in the Association seems to be going too far.”

Item support, housing space support, permission to establish a personal guild.

While permission to establish a guild practically meant keeping only one foot in the Association, if recruiting the monster rookie could strengthen the Association’s power, an investment of this scale was well worth it.

The problem was the hidden encounters.

The hidden encounters possessed by the Association.

The first Association President, Bae Giyeon, was a talented awakened person who was the first in the world to break through the 15th floor.

At the time, he possessed up to three S-rank skills, but the problem was that he was fighting an illness.

No matter how much awakening power he had, it was impossible to defeat disease, and he ultimately passed away three years ago.

Since Choi Hyuk was the Vice President who assisted him, he succeeded him to take the seat of the next Association President.

‘The hidden encounters stored in the Association were discovered by the first Association President.’

Without using the hidden encounters he acquired, he stored them in a secret space accessible only by the authority of the Association President.

And Choi Hyuk had promised to hand over such hidden encounters to a rookie who had just awakened.

“I am granting them under the authority of the Association President—is there a problem?”

Choi Hyuk glared at them with a stern expression.

As he was also a skilled individual who had currently climbed up to the 19th floor, no one could match him in either power or martial might.

“They are treasures left behind by the first Association President-nim. Why are you trying to hand such treasures over to a guy like that?”

“Rather, use them yourself, Association President-nim! If you use all those hidden encounters, it won’t be impossible for you to go up to the 20th floor!”

Despite that, the executives did not back down easily.

“Is there anyone here who received SS, or even above S, in the tutorial?”

At Choi Hyuk’s words, the executives fell silent.

Most of them were part of the advance party who entered after receiving invitations less than one or two years after the tower appeared.

And without exception, they all finished at A-rank or below.

In the first place, those S-rank or higher were not with the Association, but were founding their own guilds, expanding their influence, and growing exponentially.

“S was my best as well.”

At the time, Choi Hyuk stepped onto the 4th floor ranked 1st out of 100 people.

Even so, he finished with S.

Looking at this alone showed just how absurd a score EX was.

“I am not saying I will hand them over immediately. I also have no intention of turning over hidden encounters just because he finished a single tutorial.”

“Then?”

“The 10th floor. Based on solo climbing every floor, he must achieve a clear evaluation of SS or higher.”

“SS?!”

From the 1st floor to the 10th floor.

Even if one knew the raid strategy thoroughly, it was a score difficult for an individual to achieve alone.

These words practically meant he had no intention of handing over the hidden encounters.

“With conditions like this, isn’t it sufficient?”

At Choi Hyuk’s words, the rest of the executives nodded with satisfied expressions.