The Legendary Regressor Devours the Tower - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Sungwoon turned around.

All the NPCs at the village entrance were frozen as if broken.

Normally, cheers should have erupted here, but the fact that they didn’t meant the administrator had intervened on the 1st floor.

Considering he had finished with an EX+-Rank, it wasn’t all that surprising.

“It really is mysterious.”

The robot he encountered in the tutorial appeared once again.

“What’s so fascinating?”

Sungwoon tilted his head.

“EX+-Rank. A rank that has never been granted to anyone until now—you, who just finished the tutorial, reached it. What could this mean?”

He had finished the tutorial with an EX.

‘He must have been watching me with interest.’

Instead of answering, Sungwoon shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, if you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to.”

It was a different attitude from during the tutorial.

When Sungwoon chose the Blessing of Odious, the administrator had been extremely curious about the reason for his choice and had whipped out a 10% discount card on all items.

He thought it would go in a similar context this time as well.

“Then what is the reason for appearing here?”

“I was thinking of making a proposal.”

“A proposal?”

The administrator smirked and held up an index finger.

“If you finish all the way up to the 10th floor with this rank, I will let you freely choose one of the items I possess.”

It was an undeniably extraordinary offer.

Although the items held by a low-floor administrator were limited, there were many items that were more expensive and efficient than the Manual of the Sword.

But it was strange.

“What profit do I get by accepting that proposal?”

It was hard to believe he made the proposal out of mere curiosity.

Cunning guy as he was, there had to be another reason.

“Rather than profit… just fun, perhaps? Of course, there will be a condition attached.”

“A condition?”

“If you fail to reach the rank I specified even once, I will take away one of the rewards you have received.”

Ah, he’s aiming for the Blessing of Odious.

The fact that he went out of his way to appear and propose this meant he was quite wary of this title.

Had Sungwoon not cleared it with EX+, the administrator wouldn’t have felt threatened, but thanks to the title, he was able to leap a full step up from EX.

“Sure.”

There was no reason not to accept.

Because to face the Transcendent, he had to become even slightly stronger.

At that moment, Sungwoon and the administrator’s wrists glowed faintly.

“With this, the contract is established.”

By accepting the offer just now, the contract was formed.

If he finished everything with EX+-Rank, it would be Sungwoon’s victory.

Conversely, if even one floor failed to reach EX+, it would be the administrator’s victory.

“I’ll look forward to it.”

“Look forward to it? Are you already thinking about taking the item?”

The administrator put on a flabbergasted expression.

Where on earth was this confidence coming from?

After Sungwoon turned back, the administrator checked all of his information.

To see if he had by any chance obtained an item containing information related to EX.

However, he was no different from an ordinary beginner.

If there was anything to find, it was only that he had discovered a hidden encounter tucked away in a Minor Tower before entering.

“Even if you stare at it that intently, nothing will come out.”

Flinch.

“Is that really so?”

At the accurate point, the administrator almost lost his poker face for a second, but dealt with it skillfully.

“Yes. Because I’m no different from an ordinary climber.”

A statement indirectly revealing that he saw right through whatever the administrator was thinking.

In the end, a crack appeared in the administrator’s expression.

“…I’ll look forward to seeing how long that confidence lasts.”

Sungwoon laughed inwardly.

Because even if he looked forward to it that much, there would be no failure.

[The broadcast has ended.]

The screen of the hologram window forcibly vanished.

Choi Byungjun, who was completing text by touching the hologram keyboard underneath, stared into space with a dazed expression before suddenly flying into a rage.

“No! Fucking hell! I told you to show the rewards!”

It was EX+-Rank.

It was his first time seeing that such a rank even existed in the world.

[Congratulations! Climber ** (South Korea – Seoul)-nim has completed Tutorial Mode with EX-Rank.]

The notice that the tutorial was finished with EX-Rank went out as an alert to climbers all over the world.

[There’s a rumor that the climber who finished with EX-Rank entered the Association, is that true?]

-My friend is a scout so I heard vaguely, they said the EX-Rank climber entered the Association. They said he doesn’t pop up on the list.

└Whoa lol, so the Association activated a lock?

└Indeed, if it’s EX-Rank, the whole world would covet him to death… Placing a lock makes sense.

└What a shame. If he finished with EX-Rank, he would have been promised the best treatment even in the United States.

└Right. If it’s the US, he’d get offers beyond Korea’s wildest dreams.

└What were they lacking to go to the Association? Mysterious.

With the Association’s intrusion, the guilds’ recruitment operation vanished into thin air before it even began.

As soon as Choi Byungjun, a scout for the Hansung Guild, heard the news, he surfed through the channels of climbers who would be climbing the 1st floor.

However, like beginners, even with strategy guides available, their play overall was sloppy.

Whenever Choi Byungjun noticed such flaws, he ruthlessly switched channels, until he stopped at a channel named ‘Yuseong’.

‘Found it.’

The only climber who appeared as a mannequin because the Association had placed a lock on him.

‘I will clear the 1st floor with EX-Rank.’

Whether due to the lock or not, he proudly declared that he had finished the tutorial with EX-Rank and announced that he would finish the 1st floor with EX-Rank.

And when he responded by surpassing EX-Rank to achieve EX+, Choi Byungjun was completely rendered speechless.

He had only just learned that a rank called EX existed for the first time, but a rank above that existed too?

[Congratulations! Climber ** (South Korea – Seoul)-nim has completed the 1st floor of the Tower of Ruin with EX+-Rank.]

Before long, a notification came to Choi Byungjun.

“Dammit… How great would it be if there was at least a recording feature.”

Inside the tower, no content whatsoever could be recorded as video.

As a result, strategy guides were also shared in text format rather than video.

Choi Byungjun hurriedly went onto the community forum.

Although it couldn’t be recorded as video, over 200 viewers had witnessed it with their own two eyes.

Surely there would be someone who ran to the community forum to dump a post.

“There is one.”

His prediction hit the mark completely.

[Spilling the story of watching EX+-Rank with my own two eyes!]

-Do you guys fucking know what I just saw?

The body content was written in detail, perhaps because the author had a good memory.

Choi Byungjun briefly marveled.

“Great summarization skills.”

Sloppy parts could be seen here and there, but that couldn’t be helped.

‘I’ll have to check it out myself.’

Choi Byungjun was the very first viewer of Yuseong’s channel.

That’s why he watched everything about how Yuseong moved.

Although he couldn’t check the 1st floor clear reward, by copying his play, he might at least reach EX-Rank, even if not EX+-Rank.

“Huh? Why isn’t it there?”

In the cabin where Yuseong had headed, no NPC existed.

NPCs have a designated activity radius, so they never leave their post though?

What happened here?

“What business brings you here?”

At that moment, someone entered the cabin.

“Ah, where did the person residing here go?”

“…He passed away.”

“Pardon?”

Choi Byungjun’s face was painted with embarrassment.

Following the Tutorial EX-Rank, it was the Tower of Ruin 1st Floor EX+-Rank.

The entire world went wild at the miraculous results appearing back-to-back.

All eyes were turned toward Seoul, South Korea, and top-tier rankers wanted to visit South Korea to see the monster rookie’s face, but the Association blocked everyone under the pretext of the Climber Lock.

‘Access by those without Association permission is strictly prohibited.’

Thanks to that, Sungwoon was leisurely taking a rest while sitting on the living room sofa.

“Do you like the house?”

Standing in front of him was Jang Byungjun, who worked as a team leader in the Management Division.

“Yes. Thanks to you, I’m doing well.”

A luxury apartment he couldn’t even dream of in his previous life.

When Sungwoon had climbed to a certain level back then, a long time had already passed since the collapse of civilization began, so he had been busy just scrambling to endure a single day.

‘It was because reaching the 50th floor was delayed for too long.’

If someone had stepped foot onto the 50th floor within a set period, civilization wouldn’t have collapsed.

This life will be different.

Since he, who had stepped onto the 80th floor in his previous life, started climbing the tower a full 5 years earlier.

“EX+-Rank… Climber-nim, just what on earth is your identity?”

The reason Jang Byungjun was in the apartment rather than the Association.

It was because Sungwoon had finished the 1st floor not with SSS-Rank, nor EX-Rank, but with EX+-Rank.

Although the Association had even applied a lock to protect him, EX+-Rank created far too massive of a ripple.

Currently, all kinds of love calls were pouring into the Association, demanding to see his face.

Jang Byungjun was standing in this place on behalf of Choi Hyuk, who could not leave his post due to work.

Although it was only from the middle, he could not hide his shock while watching Sungwoon’s play.

‘How on earth is that the play of a beginner?’

Though it was an era where strategy after strategy poured out, allowing even beginners to climb without difficulty, Sungwoon’s play was on another level by anyone’s standards.

“Did you come here to ask that?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that. It’s because the entire world is buzzing over this EX+-Rank.”

“In simple terms, you mean you want to manage me.”

“Yes. I was instructed to remove everything that could get in the way so that Climber-nim can focus on climbing.”

Even if someone just achieved SS-Rank or higher, it was easy to get noticed, so with EX+-Rank, it went without saying.

Rather, since they were paying attention to ensure he could focus on climbing, this wasn’t bad either.

“Go ahead then. Shall we make some preparations to head up to the 2nd floor, then?”

Sungwoon wrote something down on a note and handed it to him.

“What is this?”

“I’ll step out for a bit. Until then, please procure the materials written there.”

Jingeom Guild.

The master of the guild and Sword Saint, Pyo Byeongwoo, could not hide his admiration at the newly popped notification.

“To record ridiculous results continuously from the tutorial all the way to the 1st floor.”

A climber residing in Seoul, South Korea.

A climber of such caliber that the Association even applied a lock to protect him.

Just who could it be?

“Incredible. Even Guild Leader-nim has never received SSS-Rank or higher in the lower floors.”

The Sword Saint, shining at 87th in the global ranking and 2nd in South Korea’s ranking.

A genius among geniuses who awakened with the vanguard and had never dropped below S-Rank in the lower floors even once.

The person teasing Pyo Byeongwoo was Lee Hayeon, the second-in-command of the Jingeom Guild and ranked 13th in South Korea.

She was a powerhouse who had climbed up to this position despite entering the tower a full year later than Pyo Byeongwoo.

“Are you teasing me right now?”

Pyo Byeongwoo chuckled softly.

It would be a lie to say that feelings of jealousy didn’t well up, but he was not such a childish person as to express them.

“Was it that obvious? More importantly, if the Association hadn’t placed a lock, the United States would have intervened somehow, right?”

“Presumably. I, too, received love calls from the United States back then.”

Pyo Byeongwoo cleared the tutorial with S-Rank, and the 1st through 5th floors with S+ to SS-Rank.

At the time, the US tried to recruit anyone with skill, so Pyo Byeongwoo received love calls as well.

They offered an amount that would tempt anyone, but because his goal was to be a climber representing South Korea, he was able to decline.

To be honest, the fact that his competitiveness fell short when compared to American rankers also played a part.

In South Korea, he was ranked 2nd, but expanding to the entire world, he dropped down to 87th.

In particular, among the 86 people ahead of him, 65 were climbers holding US nationality.

Because of that, he had not a single regret about staying in South Korea.

However, the climber who was blazing through with miraculous results was a different story.

Though it was only the 1st floor, it was as good as verified, so they would try to bring him over somehow, even if it meant offering conditions beyond imagination.

“Would he go?”

“I don’t know. But one thing for certain is…”

“What’s certain?”

“It means his value will skyrocket through the roof depending on his future results. To the point where even the US wouldn’t dare look at him.”

Tutorial EX.

1st floor EX+.

What if he recorded overwhelming results on subsequent floors as well?

The conditions wouldn’t be the issue; one would have to focus on the rewards obtained within them.

First clear rewards.

Since he finished with EX, he would receive skills or items of at least SS-Rank or higher.

As those pile up, he will surely reach a realm that can never be rivaled.

‘We must do our utmost to make sure he stays in South Korea no matter what.’

Because if such a capable person went to another country, it would be a painful loss.