The Legendary Regressor Devours the Tower - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Interest in Han Geonu quickly died down.

‘What the? One of the awakened got Locked?’

Although there were witness statements, it was because the Association had placed a Lock on one of the individuals who awakened today.

This meant that an awakened individual had joined the Association.

‘Go ahead and undergo an inspection. We can talk afterward.’

In the end, Han Geonu reluctantly underwent the inspection, and his lie was completely exposed.

Only then did the scouters side with the Cheonha Guild staff.

‘You’re blacklisted! You won’t be able to join any guild whatsoever!’

As expected, interest in him turned into anger, and Han Geonu was placed on the blacklist.

The Cheonha Guild ruthlessly kicked him out and showered him with curses, declaring they would hand him all sorts of disadvantages when climbing the tower.

“Damn it, I’m ruined…”

Han Geonu deeply regretted his actions.

Driven by a sense of betrayal toward Cheonha and the anticipation of joining Horus, he had crossed a river of no return.

Now all that was left was that bastard who made the proposal.

Yet for some reason, no matter how long he waited, the guy didn’t show up.

“Son of a bitch. I’m definitely not letting him off the hook.”

He vividly remembered the guy’s face.

If he couldn’t crush him with brute strength, he would put a curse on him so that everything he tried to do would fail.

Wiing-

Just then, his smartphone buzzed.

The caller was an unsaved number.

“Is it those guild bastards?”

First they said they’d blacklist him, and now they were going to harass him over the phone, huh?

Fine.

You dog-like bastards.

Go ahead and spout your nonsense.

Perhaps because of the alcohol he’d drunk, Han Geonu, filled with sudden confidence, answered the phone grandly.

“Fuck, who the hell are you!”

[It’s me.]

“How am I supposed to know who ‘me’ is?”

[Horus.]

At the single word ‘Horus’, he instantly snapped out of it.

Han Geonu hurriedly adjusted his grip on the smartphone.

“H-by any chance?”

[Yeah. The guy who killed you.]

He remembered that the guy had taken his number, saying he would contact him later.

Han Geonu’s eyes grew red with emotion.

“I thought I got stabbed in the back…”

So he actually has some loyalty after all.

[You did get stabbed in the back, though.]

Fuck. Scratch that.

He felt blood suddenly rush to his head.

“Do you wanna die? I did?”

[I asked around, and they said you caused such a huge scene that you got blacklisted?]

“That’s all because I did what you told me to do!”

[You should have read the room and paced yourself.]

“Shut up! It’s all your fault. Take responsibility.”

[Yep. You got blacklisted, so Horus is canceled.]

“You fucking piece of shiiiiit!”

Kwang!

Unable to contain his rage, Han Geonu slammed his fist onto the floor.

If he had known it would turn out like this, he wouldn’t have listened to that bastard.

Even if he left Cheonha, he possessed Bulgul which could grow up to A-rank, so he could have at least joined a mid-sized guild.

He had just stupidly fallen for the name Horus.

[So I’m going to make a different proposal.]

“A proposal?”

[Join the guild I’m creating.]

“…Fuck, your grand proposal is just asking me to join a brand-new guild?”

Raising a brand-new guild was as difficult as plucking a star from the sky.

Established guilds had already claimed every slice of the pie, so how could a newly created guild squeeze in?

Even so, there were people who grew new guilds, but every single one of them had powerful backing.

[What if I have the Association behind me?]

“What…?”

[Then that changes the story, doesn’t it?]

“Ha, you expect me to believe that?”

[Whether you believe it or not is up to you.]

“Do I look like a dumbass? Why would the Association help someone founding a guild?”

[Because I’m different from the others.]

“…Is that for real?”

If those words were true, wouldn’t this be an offer that would never come again?

If an expert who had easily cut off his breath was backed by the Association, even a newborn guild could grow rapidly.

[Why would I bother lying to you?]

Gulp.

With the full support of the Association, it was a very plausible story.

“Are you really fine with me? I literally tried to kill you though?”

However, he couldn’t quite understand.

Why would he extend an offer to join such a guild to a guy who had tried to kill him?

[Because you were a bit similar.]

“Huh?”

Similar?

What did that mean?

[So, what are you going to do?]

“…I-If you’re okay with me, I want to join.”

[Okay.]

“A-And one more thing.”

[What.]

Han Geonu hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly.

“I’m sorry… Even though it was just the tutorial, I tried to kill you.”

First, he wanted to clear away his past mistakes.

Tutorial or not, he had genuinely intended to kill him.

It was all to show off that he had acquired Bulgul and joined a major guild like Cheonha.

[It’s fine. I didn’t feel much of a threat from a scrub anyway.]

He accepted the apology nonchalantly.

“I swear I will never betray you.”

[I really like your attitude of swearing loyalty. From now on, call me hyung-nim.]

“…How old are you, anyway?”

[Do you want to die?]

Cold sweat trickled down his spine at the chilling response.

Was it because he had already been killed by him once?

That question didn’t feel like an empty threat in the slightest.

The Association’s handling of business was swift and decisive.

After assigning him to a middle floor of a luxury apartment located near the Association, the staff moved his luggage automatically without him needing to lift a finger, setting up everything he needed—starting from various home appliances—with top-of-the-line quality.

“Wow, this is insane…”

Unlike Sungwoon, who was sitting on the sofa, his friend Seo Jaepil was busy admiring the apartment’s interior design.

Sungwoon feigned ignorance and asked.

“Why? Doesn’t your guild provide stuff like this?”

“Hey, why would they give an apartment to a nobody like me?”

“It’s Horus though?”

“Tsk, just item support alone costs hundreds of millions of won. They don’t throw in an apartment on top of that.”

“That’s a bit of a shame.”

Whistling softly, Sungwoon pulled out the sword he had received from the Association.

===

[Asgard Sword]

-Type: Sword

-Grade: A

-Attack Power: 250

-Critical Hit Rate: 2 ~ 2.5%

-Remaining Durability: 100%

-Special Ability (1): Upon taking damage, low probability to trigger [Passive: Asgard’s Benevolence]

-Special Ability (2): Upon landing a hit, low probability to trigger [Active: Asgard’s Wrath]

===

‘It definitely is nice receiving support.’

He hadn’t even started climbing yet, but his equipment and armor were already all A-grade.

In his past life, he had entered holding the sword issued during the tutorial.

While not selecting a weapon yielded bonus points in the tutorial, from the subsequent climbs onward, there were no factors tied to weapon choice.

In other words, using high-grade gear would not alter the clear score.

“It really is a shame… Someone of your level should have gone to a guild, not the Association.”

Having finished looking around, Seo Jaepil sat on the sofa, oozing disappointment.

When Sungwoon said he would climb alone, Jaepil had wanted to somehow get him into Horus, but Sungwoon chose the Association over a guild.

“Forget guilds. More importantly, are you doing okay?”

“Huh?”

“I heard you failed to clear the 13th floor.”

“Sigh… I’m honestly dying of embarrassment.”

To conclude, Seo Jaepil had failed to climb the 13th floor.

“You came back alive, so that’s enough. What’s embarrassing about that?”

“I went up after making thorough preparations. But even then, I couldn’t do it…”

“If it’s the 13th floor, you must’ve gotten stuck in the maze?”

“Huh? How did you know that?”

The 13th floor.

Its scale was on a completely different level from the maze encountered in the tutorial.

Not only was the difficulty considerable, but the pattern changed every time, so there were countless instances where people got stuck even after memorizing strategy guides inside out.

The problem was that taking a wrong path in the maze triggered all kinds of traps.

With bad luck, one could get trapped and lose their life.

Even though he failed the climb, there was no need to despair.

Because coming back alive meant he could challenge it again.

“They usually say if people get stuck, that’s where they get stuck.”

“Sigh… It seriously makes me want to swear. I memorized all kinds of patterns inside out.”

“You can just try again next time.”

Sungwoon had also failed to climb the 13th floor 16 times before barely advancing to the 14th floor.

There was no need to feel depressed over failing for the first time.

“…More importantly, are you serious about recruiting a blacklisted guy into your guild?”

He had only checked Sungwoon’s message after returning to Earth from the tower.

At first he was bewildered, but after hearing all the circumstances, worry needlessly welled up within him.

“Did you eavesdrop by any chance?”

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop! I could just hear everything.”

When Sungwoon narrowed his eyes and glared at him, Seo Jaepil jumped from his seat and waved his hands.

“Well, I’ll give you that.”

“It’s not about giving me that, it really is true! Anyway, are you serious?”

“Yeah.”

At first, he thought he was simply a stupid guy.

The kind of person blinded by greed who only caused trouble.

However, when he saw him at the Association, he saw desperation in his eyes.

In those eyes, Sungwoon overlapped his past self.

It seemed there was a reason beyond mere greed.

So he tested him using Horus as bait, and the result was extremely satisfying.

‘A guy who will do anything as long as his desperation is satisfied.’

Judging that it wouldn’t hurt to recruit him, Sungwoon selected him as his first guild member.

“You really pick only the hardest paths to walk.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Ugh, fine. Do whatever you want.”

Seo Jaepil let out a deep sigh and stood up from his seat.

“Leaving already?”

“Yeah. Looking at you, it seems you’re about to start climbing, so an obstacle like me should step out about now.”

Coming here today was to catch up with Sungwoon after a long time.

He didn’t want to keep nagging someone who rejected guilds and joined the Association.

“Get home safely. Don’t rush back in just because you failed.”

“Wow, am I seriously getting advice from a guy who hasn’t even cleared the 1st floor yet? Puhaha!”

Seo Jaepil wore an incredulous expression and burst into laughter.

Seeing that laughter, Sungwoon thought to himself.

Once he started climbing, the entire world would be shaken up.

Will that innocent laugh still be maintained even then?

“Listening to it won’t hurt you.”

“Right. I’ll be sure to take your advice to heart.”

Even though he was a friend who was just about to start climbing, there was not a single thing wrong with his words.

Climbing meant risking one’s life.

Becoming impatient leads to clouded judgment, ultimately crossing a river of no return.

Seo Jaepil took Sungwoon’s advice to heart and waved his hand.

Along with telling him to contact him anytime if he ever needed anything.

“Shall we get started then?”

Once he left, Sungwoon remained alone and equipped his gear.

[Do you wish to enter the 1st Floor of the Tower of Ruin?]

The method of entering the tower was simple.

Unlike the tutorial where one had to wait for matching, it was a system where entry was possible whenever one desired.

[Party does not exist.]

[Do you really wish to start climbing? *Upon re-entry, evaluation score will be penalized.]

The evaluation score deduction was a penalty applied only to climbers who had not cleared it even once.

Even if one met the S-rank criteria, if points were deducted due to re-entry, an A or B rank might result, so a careful decision had to be made.

“Start.”

Sungwoon expressed his intention to enter without a moment’s hesitation.

[Entering the 1st Floor of the Tower of Ruin.]

His vision went dark and then brightened in less than 0.1 seconds.

Before him unfolded a landscape completely different from Seoul, South Korea.

On the ground was a circular stone plate carved from blue luminescent stone, and beyond it, small huts were huddled together.

[You have entered the Village of Beginnings.]

This place right here was the 1st floor.

The Village of Beginnings.

The theme was monster subjugation, just like in the tutorial.

However, unlike the tutorial or Minor Towers, there was a process that needed to be undertaken.

[Do you wish to start the sponsorship broadcast?]

Sponsorship broadcast.

Clearing the tutorial tower had unlocked the community.

This community was not an ordinary community, but a system that only climbers could access, through which they could watch broadcasts or sponsor accumulated gold.

While it could be viewed as a feature for latecomers, those who secured many viewers and swept up gold were in fact the frontrunners.

That was inevitable because content that could draw people’s interest, such as high-floor climbs or low-floor strategies, was extremely difficult for latecomers to carry out.

“Start.”

Of course, it was not a difficult task for Sungwoon.

Because if he performed well a few times, people would naturally flock to him.

‘It’s not just about receiving gold donations.’

The tower also granted items and titles based on rankings from these broadcasts.

Because hidden encounters were also included among them, climbers never let go of broadcasting.

Especially in the case of major guilds, because they actively promoted their guild members, the difficulty of gathering viewers was significantly lowered.

All these factors combined led latecomers to try their hardest to join a guild by any means necessary.

[Sponsorship broadcast is starting.]

[Do you wish to set your nickname?]

A nickname, huh.

“Yuseong.”

The nickname Sungwoon had set in his past life was Yuseong.

Without a second thought, he decided to use the same nickname.

Perhaps because he was a latecomer, there was not a single viewer.

Most likely, no viewers would enter until the tower clear was over.

Because that was how it was in his past life as well.

You can’t expect to be full from the first bite, so it didn’t bother him much.

…Or so he thought.

-hi

As if waiting for it, one viewer entered Sungwoon’s channel.

The nickname was unknown.

Unless the viewer donated directly, Sungwoon couldn’t know that viewer’s nickname.

“Hello.”

To think a viewer would actually join.

Because there were so many people and every Tom, Dick, and Harry made a channel, having 0 viewers was commonplace.

Honestly, he hadn’t expected much, but to think a viewer actually entered.

-What the, why does this person look like a mannequin?

A mannequin.

The Association had used the Padlock system to lock all of Sungwoon’s information.

That’s why the viewer couldn’t recognize Sungwoon’s face.

“Indeed. I wonder why.”

Feigning ignorance, Sungwoon took a step and left the stone plate.