The Legendary Regressor Devours the Tower - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Han Geonu received items and supplies right around the time Sungwoon began climbing the 2nd floor.

‘I’ll have to go in alone.’

It couldn’t be helped; the Association strictly provided support and nothing more.

They never went so far as to form an additional party to help clear the floor.

Since he wasn’t even affiliated with the Association in the first place, he should be more than grateful just to receive item support.

Since he had practically memorized the walkthrough, climbing at least the 1st floor should be easily doable.

Even so, just in case, let me check one more time…

“Huh? A stream?”

[They say Yuseong started streaming!]

He went into the community board to check the walkthrough one more time before starting his climb, only to find out that Sungwoon had started a stream of his 2nd-floor climb.

Just in case, Han Geonu searched for and entered Yuseong’s channel.

“50,000?!”

His eyes widened in astonishment at the viewer count surpassing 50,000.

Wasn’t this just a stream of someone climbing the 2nd floor?

But then again, since he finished the 1st floor with an EX+ rank, maybe this number was to be expected…?

“Fuck, I’m so fucking jealous.”

Surpassing 50,000 viewers starting from the 2nd floor meant donation Gold would hit an all-time high, and if this continued, the fame stat he could acquire on the 10th floor would also be beyond imagination.

Completely forgetting about his own 1st-floor climb, Han Geonu began watching Sungwoon’s stream.

“What a monster of a guy…”

An exclamation burst out when Sungwoon wiped out the hidden mid-boss.

“Why would you kill an NPC! Are you trying to eat away all your bonus points?!”

He let out a sigh of dismay when Sungwoon killed Arut, who was wrapped in the guise of an NPC.

“Huh? He got acknowledged by the elder…?”

Puzzlingly, even though Sungwoon had killed the successor, the elder acknowledged Sungwoon, and bonus points stacked up even further instead.

“EX+?!”

And as Sungwoon successfully completed the 2nd-floor climb, he proudly finished it with an EX+ rank.

Following the 1st floor, another consecutive EX+ rank appeared, driving the viewers into a frenzy.

Screaming that a monster had appeared in South Korea.

“D-Don’t turn it off!”

Having finished with an EX+ rank, it was now time to check the rewards.

But Sungwoon ended the stream before even revealing the rewards.

Because of that, the community posts praising Sungwoon instantly turned into rage and criticism.

However, as if Sungwoon didn’t have even 1% interest in any of it, he called Han Geonu and instructed him to bring the elixir.

Promised to be given an A-grade sword as well, only an idiot would refuse.

‘He told me to bring the Fortune Elixir.’

Han Geonu hurriedly headed to Woo Mincheol’s mansion.

“Fortune Elixir? Ah, is he planning to use it to roll the dice?”

“Yes.”

The dice was a reward given upon clearing the 2nd floor.

Since it was a game of probability, he was trying to obtain a high number using the Fortune Elixir.

Because its effect was guaranteed, those with sufficient capital would always boost their Luck stat before rolling the dice.

“Should I give you the one with the strongest effect?”

Woo Mincheol pondered for a moment.

There was an elixir that raised Luck by a whopping 50%.

However, as much as it raised the stat, an equal amount of misfortune would follow once the duration ended.

Because of this, it might be better to hand over an elixir one grade lower that raised it by 20%.

“Please give me the best one.”

“Did he tell you to bring that specific one?”

“Yes.”

“Wait a moment.”

Only after contacting Sungwoon did Woo Mincheol hand the Fortune Elixir over to Han Geonu.

“…Are you doubting me right now?”

Han Geonu, displeased by that, furrowed his brow.

To that annoyed reaction, Woo Mincheol reacted as if asking something obvious.

“If I hand this over and his reaction is bad, are you going to take responsibility?”

“Well, no, but…”

“Then take it and get the fuck out.”

Han Geonu felt a powerful urge to throw a punch right into that old jaw.

However, unable to ignore the aftermath, he barely held back and nodded his head.

“Yes.”

When he answered submissively, Woo Mincheol offered him another elixir as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“Here, take this too.”

“What’s this?”

“It’s better than the elixir you took before.”

“That didn’t have any effect at all, though.”

The reason why he didn’t think fondly of Woo Mincheol.

His condition had noticeably plummeted because of the elixir, and even after recovering, there had been no distinct change.

“What bullshit are you talking about? Your Poison Attribute Resistance +1% should have gone up.”

“Huh?”

Han Geonu hastily opened his information window, and just as Woo Mincheol said, he was able to confirm that Poison Attribute Resistance +1% was attached.

When did this show up?

As he stared at it with a dazed face, Woo Mincheol shook the glass bottle with a triumphant smile.

“Beg for it.”

“I will dedicate my lifelong loyalty to you!”

Han Geonu hurriedly dropped to his knees and kowtowed.

To have an elemental resistance option attached without having an elemental resistance passive skill meant the value of that elixir was beyond imagination.

‘Did he just say so? That what the old man is holding is better than what he gave me last time?’

There was no reason not to bow his head.

“Hmph, don’t flatter me. Your acting is way too clumsy.”

Even while saying that, Woo Mincheol set the glass bottle containing the elixir down in front of Han Geonu.

“T-Thank you!”

“I’m telling you for the last time. Get the fuck out.”

“Yes! This humble servant shall get the fuck out now!”

Han Geonu packed up the elixir with a beaming face and vanished.

Only after he disappeared did his disciple, Lee Sanghyeon, who was inside, approach and ask cautiously.

“Master, why are you handing over the elixir to that person, though?”

He knew that person was a customer from an important business partner.

But giving away an elixir that grants elemental resistance options as a free service was far too excessive.

“Hehe, I never imagined he would actually succeed.”

Woo Mincheol stroked his chin with a sinister expression.

“Pardon?”

“My disciple, this isn’t giving it away, it’s an experiment.”

“An experiment?”

“Yes. What I first handed to that fellow was a poison called Cartafos.”

“Poison?!”

Lee Sanghyeon gasped in shock, his mouth hanging wide open.

Cartafos.

The lethality of that poison was considerable.

If someone who hadn’t trained by climbing the tower was poisoned by it, they could lose their life in severe cases.

To think he used such a poison on Han Geonu, who hadn’t even climbed the 1st floor.

“That guy has a born physical body. I didn’t think he’d overcome the poison of Cartafos and build up resistance in such a short period of time.”

The poison of Cartafos.

He had reasoned that if resistance was built up through that poison, one could gain up to 1% resistance.

However, it had no effect on an Awakened who was trained enough to easily overcome poison after climbing the tower.

A body that could definitely be poisoned yet definitely overcome it.

That was why the one chosen was none other than Han Geonu.

The result was a massive success.

If there was anything regrettable, it was that for each attribute, the effect only took place once.

“Then what is the one you handed over this time?”

“It’s made by extracting from the clown mushroom.”

“The clown mushroom?!”

The clown mushroom.

It was a poisonous mushroom that bloomed on the 14th floor.

They say eating it causes severe hallucinations, but to think he extracted it and passed it over.

The problem was that its addiction and dependency were so strong that drug addicts would crave it like crazy.

Also, since it was a poisonous mushroom, abusing it would continuously damage the body and mind, taking one’s life.

“Why? Did you think I’d give it to him directly in its extracted state?”

Handing it over as is would be no different from a drug.

Woo Mincheol made this elixir by extracting only the necessary ingredients from the clown mushroom.

If that guy can absorb it, it will be of great help in climbing the 2nd floor.

Of course, if he can’t digest it, the aftereffects will be considerable, but dependency won’t develop.

‘It’s just that it’d be a waste otherwise.’

Because there aren’t many guys at level 1 with a body that tough.

“You’re here?”

“Yes. Here it is.”

Han Geonu offered the elixir with a polite attitude.

A smile formed at the corners of Sungwoon’s mouth as he received the elixir.

[Fortune Elixir]
-Type: Consumable
-Grade: A
-Upon consumption, a buff granting a 50% increase to Luck is applied for 1 hour.
-When the buff ends, the ‘Misfortune’ debuff is applied for 24 hours.

It was definitely the Fortune Elixir.

An elixir that granted a buff raising Luck by a whopping 50%.

However, once the buff ended, a debuff bringing misfortune would conversely be applied.

Not just for 1 hour, but for a whole 24 hours.

Nevertheless, Sungwoon chose 50% because he judged it was well worth it.

‘If it were a normal die, 50% would be too excessive, but the Golden Dice is different.’

Each number on the die makes a difference of 10.

Getting a high number even at the cost of bearing misfortune would spur his future growth.

“Did you happen to receive anything else separately?”

Sungwoon asked, glancing sideways at Han Geonu.

Flinch—

In an instant, Sungwoon noticed Han Geonu’s shoulders flinch.

“N-No.”

His acting was far too clumsy to play innocent.

Sungwoon extended his hand.

“Hand it over.”

“I really didn’t get anything…”

Even while saying that, Han Geonu obediently pulled out the elixir and held it out.

“This…”

Checking the elixir, Sungwoon’s expression hardened slightly.

[Clown’s Laughter]

Can this even be called an elixir?

A clown mushroom referred to a type of poisonous mushroom blooming inside the tower.

It was commonly used as a narcotic, but he had never heard of it being used to create an elixir.

“Um… I received it because of how hard I worked…”

Han Geonu couldn’t take his eyes off the elixir, anxiously worrying that Sungwoon might snatch it away.

“Wait.”

Sungwoon placed the elixir down beside him and called Woo Mincheol.

[Yeah. Did you get the elixir alright?]

“Yes. But more importantly, why did you give him this Clown’s Laughter?”

[Huh? That guy showed it to you?]

Over the smartphone, Woo Mincheol’s voice was colored with fluster.

“From what I know, the clown mushroom is extremely dangerous.”

[Now now, Clown’s Laughter was made by removing all those dangerous aspects! If he drinks and digests it, his Dark Attribute Resistance will increase by up to 1%.]

“Is that so? Aren’t you lying?”

Strange.

An elixir that raises elemental resistance exists?

Woo Mincheol raised his voice at Sungwoon’s suspicion.

[Are you trying to doubt me right now?! Ask that big burly fellow over there! See if I’m lying.]

Sungwoon’s eyes turned toward Han Geonu.

Han Geonu, who was listening to the conversation beside him, nodded his head rapidly.

“Thanks to the elixir I drank last time, my Poison Attribute Resistance increased by 1%.”

“Really?”

“Yes! It’s not a lie!”

Is that so?

“Does it work on everyone?”

[No, it’s useless once you exceed level 5. And it’s dangerous unless you’re naturally born with the right physical traits.]

Ah, so it wasn’t a proper elixir.

Not only could no one absorb it unless they were uniquely born for it, but there wasn’t even a dazzling change worth enduring the pain.

1% was a value that could easily be covered by items anyway.

“Understood. Then I’ll contact you again next time.”

Hanging up the phone, Sungwoon handed the set-down elixir and the promised A-grade greatsword over to Han Geonu.

“You’re giving it to me?”

“Yeah. I have no use for it anyway.”

Past level 5, it was a useless elixir for Sungwoon.

It was a pity he couldn’t consume it, but he had no regrets.

Because refraining from leveling up just for 1% would be far more inefficient.

“T-Then I’ll head back now.”

“Yeah. Make sure you double-check before drinking things next time.”

“Yes!”

Fearing that Sungwoon’s mind might change, Han Geonu slipped away as if fleeing.

“Then shall I get started as well?”

Sungwoon chugged down the elixir.

[Luck 50% Increase buff is applied. (1 hour)]

Emptying the elixir to the last drop, the 50% Luck increase buff was granted.

Now it was time to roll the Golden Dice.

[Would you like to use the Golden Dice?]

[If you wish to use it, please accept and roll the die.]

“Use.”

As he declared his intention to use it, the die glowed with a golden light.

Sungwoon grabbed the die and rolled it with an upward toss.

The die spun rapidly as it flew through the air, fell to the ground, and tumbled across the floor—degururu.